DETROIT (WXYZ) — Jazley Trouser has dedicated her life to helping kids in foster care, and the reason is because she’s been there.
“My mom died when I was 10 from cancer, and we went to live with my dad; he was unable to take care of us due to his own addiction and it entered us into the foster care system,” said Trouser.
Trouser said she bounced around from place to place, before ending up in a residential facility, and it was there she realized she eventually wanted to be the stability that she didn’t have.
“We were always in survival mode. So we learned how to survive rather than thrive,” she said.
And that’s where Life After Care comes in; Trouser launched the nonprofit in 2021. The program is focused on giving youth in the foster care system the skills they need for advancement and achievement as they enter adulthood.
“I thought about, like, what would I want to teach our youth and it really was simple, like, what do we use in our day to day life that helps us be self-sufficient,” said Trouser.
That’s why she built Life After Care to be focused on five key principals: financial literacy, cultural exploration, character development, culinary arts/health and career exploration.
“It’s simple things like going to the bank ... an experience we take for granted of going up to the ATM or going to a teller doing our transaction,” she said. “But think about it, for a youth such as once was myself, you know, I had never gone to the bank, didn't know what a deposit was, didn't know how to manage your money back then.”
Life After Care also gives the kids the opportunity to go on field trips, exposing them to potential career options — and it’s also meant to just let them have some fun.
“Last summer we learned how to take a fish off the hook and … they were like ‘Miss Jaz, Miss Jaz, I got it, I got this fish’ and I was so excited for them because they were just having joy, fun, excitement.”
And when it comes to pictures, Trouser goes the extra mile.
“I want them to remember. I want them to have a piece of their history. I don't have that due to being moved around from place to place. You know, our things are lost in the shuffle. I don't have any pictures of childhood I could share with anybody,” said Trouser.
Life After Care serves kids in foster facilities; the nonprofit also has a classroom at Christ Child House in Detroit.
“This current house has actually raised over 3,000 children. The children come to us in different ways. Some have been through at least 10 failed foster homes before they came to Christ Child House,” said Laura Keziah, development director at Christ Child House. “We are tasked to just love them and care for them, give them a home like environment.”
Keziah said Trouser’s program has been instrumental in opening up possibilities for the kids in their care.
“The Ronald Jay Woods Foundation has sponsored Life After Care at Christ Child House, and they have been very generous in making sure that all of the things that Jaz can dream up for our kids are well funded. So we're very fortunate to have partnerships in the community that make this program a success,” said Keziah.
Trouser said she wants to keep expanding Life After Care – with the hope to eventually grow mental health services and secure housing for those who age out of the system.
“Knowing that I can provide that for somebody, I try to be what I needed someone to be for me. And knowing that I'm doing that, that brings tears to my eyes,” she said.
If you’re interested in learning more about Life After Care, click here. To learn more about Christ Child House, click here.
