Our Mission

WHO WE ARE

NMCAN  partners with young people to build community, promote equity, and lead change.

WHAT WE DO

Since 1990, NMCAN has been leveraging community partnerships to improve children’s and youth’s experiences in foster care. Today, we authentically engage young people who have experienced family separation via foster care, youth justice, and/or homelessness to advocate for systems change that improves their transition to adulthood and positively transforms our community. Together, we work to: 

  1. Connect young people to healthy relationships with peers and a multi-generational community to strengthen their sense of belonging and promote healing
  2. Build young people’s leadership skills around personal growth and self-advocacy
  3. Create systems that value and serve young people and families, understanding their essential role in healthy communities

Our programming sends young people the message that they have great value and their civic engagement is essential to building equitable systems. NMCAN envisions innovative systems of support in which all families are able to access resources without stigma, heal from generational trauma, and lead satisfying lives in safe communities.

HOW WE DO IT

Our work is grounded in four central approaches:

  • AUTHENTIC YOUTH ENGAGEMENT: We meet young people where they are—supporting them to build their social capital, access resources, and advocate for their needs/solutions. Young people and families’ voices should be centered and valued in the programs and policies intended to support them, and they deserve autonomy to make decisions that are best for their families. Young people and parents are active members of our work, receiving compensation for collaborating on the development, implementation, evaluation, and refinement of our programming and advocacy agenda. 
  • EQUITABLE OPPORTUNITIES: We promote anti-racist policies/practices and encourage young people to leverage their lived experience as they engage in our advocacy work. We must acknowledge that historic policies that separated families (such as slavery, the orphan train movement, and Indian boarding schools) were a means to control oppressed communities. This resulted in the normalization of increased surveillance of poor communities and communities of color, bias of what a family is supposed to look/act like, and more young people of color being impacted by systems. We seek to implement policies and practices that dismantle systemic racism. 
  • COMMUNITY BUILDING: We link young people to healthy, stable relationships and provide access to a supportive and safe space to heal, connect, and grow. Part of this requires speaking one’s truth while still creating space for other viewpoints. Our programming relies on the power of human and community connection over rigid program structures. 
  • ACCOUNTABLE SOLUTIONS: We work to address the root causes of family surveillance, rather than tackling the resultant issues of foster care, youth justice, and homelessness. We also work with local partners to respond to the situations young people face, which is critical because our programming is not designed to stand alone. Systems must be held accountable, and institutions must offer meaningful access to healthcare, education, housing, jobs, transportation, and neighborhoods.