Alex Ballantyne thought he had finally found some stability after spending much of his adolescence searching for a home where he felt safe and accepted.
Then, shortly after he graduated from high school, his longtime foster family in the Santa Clarita Valley kicked him out.
He found himself homeless, aging out of the Los Angeles County foster care system — which cuts off many services at age 18 — and not knowing where to turn.
“It was tough, and I guess it still is,” Ballantyne says in an intimate new documentary that follows two Los Angeles teens in foster care aged 14 to 20. “Possible Selves,” directed by Shaun Kadlec, will debut on streaming. this month on PBS SoCal Plus.
Ballantyne’s struggle to get back on his feet after high school is one of the most heartbreaking moments in a film that offers a rare and privileged perspective on the challenges faced by youth in foster care – including childhood trauma, looming insecurity, parents struggling with addiction and the stigma associated with it. to the foster care system, all of which are approached with an unfiltered openness that only adolescents can achieve.
But even when his future seemed uncertain, Ballantyne insisted: “This is not the end of my story. »
And it wasn’t.
Today, nearly four years after the cameras stopped rolling, Ballantyne is promoting the film and sparking discussions about foster care, all while pursuing his associate’s degree at Pasadena City College. His goals have changed a bit from his teens – when he wanted to become a professional musician – and have become more ambitious: the 24-year-old plans to get his bachelor’s degree in commerce, hopefully at UC Berkeley, then get a law degree. work in public policy.
Achieving this would defy odds for former foster youth, who statistically have some of the lowest outcomes when it comes to completing high school, continuing college and earning their college degree.
Ballantyne’s aspiration for “Possible Selves” is more modest: He hopes people will come away with a better understanding of foster care and the comprehensive services these young people need.
“What I really want people to take away from this…we’re not all very troubled kids,” Ballantyne said. “We’re just normal people who happened to be in a foster home.”
“Foster youth have a lot of services, a lot of great programs that give them all this support,” Kadlec said. “But for it all to work, it really takes people bringing their hearts, showing up and connecting with young people. Because otherwise you get lost.
(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
He hopes that other children in the family system – or those facing other challenges – will realize that they are not the only ones going through difficult times.
“I don’t want people to feel as alone and isolated as I once did,” he said.
Kadlec said he wanted viewers to consider becoming involved in the life of a vulnerable teenager.
“Foster youth have a lot of services, a lot of wonderful programs that give them all this support,” said Kadlec, who produced, filmed and directed the documentary. “But for it all to work, it really takes people bringing their hearts, showing up and connecting with young people. Because otherwise you get lost.
“So many people could become a mentor to a youth in foster care, and it could absolutely change their lives,” he added.
The hour-long documentary follows Ballantyne and Mia Derisso, both members of the First Star UCLA Bruin Guardian Scholars Academy, a college preparation program for foster youth that provides support, mentoring and access to one of the state’s leading universities. For a month each summer, teens live on the UCLA campus, building community, studying, and imagining what life as a student could be like.
Derisso, 24, said without the First Star program, she probably never would have considered college.
“I sincerely believe that this was the starting point of my educational career, because I could do more,” said Derisso, who is currently studying Italian in Milan. She hopes to complete her studies in computer science at an Italian university, after completing the first two years at San Francisco State University. “Every summer I was able to discover who I was as an individual.”
These summer academies were a time where she didn’t have to worry about adjusting to the expectations or rules of a new foster family and allowed her to get away from the stress of the next home or challenge which could arise.
“I honestly think it helped me to continue living,” Derisso said. “I was so depressed, I was so depressed… but I looked forward to every summer.”
California’s foster care system serves about 42,000 children, most of whom were removed from their parents’ homes after being abused or neglected. Many end up returning to their families; others are adopted or, like Ballantyne and Derisso, age out of the system. Children in state foster care are disproportionately Black and Native American and from low-income families, and those who age without a secure family structure face a unique set of obstacles with a limited safety net.
“Possible Selves” debuts May 11 on PBS SoCal Plus.
(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
About 60 percent of foster youth in California graduate from high school, compared to 86 percent of non-foster youth, according to the California Department of Education. They are also more likely to drop out of school, be chronically absent, and change schools frequently.
These statistics motivated the development of First Star, which began at UCLA in 2011 and has since expanded to universities across the country.
“These children are the state’s responsibility,” said Lyndsey Wilson, executive director of First Star. “Our state should want all children in foster care to graduate…but that is not the case.”
More important than academic support, Wilson said, the First Star program provides consistent contact with teens, social-emotional support and a community that understands and values them. While teens in foster care often change schools, homes and social workers, “our organizations are the only constant,” she said.
California does not keep statistics on college graduation rates for former foster children, although the state has provided increasing support for this population, including free tuition in some public schools and dedicated resources on campus. However, state data shows that foster youth enroll in college within a year of graduating high school 20 percent less often than non-foster youth.
A recent study of former foster youth in California found that by age 23, about 10 percent of them had earned a college degree, while more than 60 percent of them were attending college. university. Fewer than 4 percent earned a four-year degree, according to the California Youth Transitions to Adulthood Study.
“Consistent adults matter when people have had adverse childhood experiences and trauma after trauma,” Wilson explains in the film.
First Star does not have data on its students’ college graduation rates, but said their high school graduation rate was nearly 100 percent last year.
Even though the documentary delves into some of the teens’ worst moments and biggest insecurities, both Derisso and Ballantyne are extremely proud of the film.
“I was able to see how much I grew and my progress,” Derisso said. “I hope this will motivate other foster children to achieve their dreams.”
A free screening of the documentary, followed by a panel discussion featuring Kadlec and Ballantyne, will take place Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Los Angeles Central Library.
On PBS SoCal Plus, the film will premiere May 11 at 9 p.m. in the Los Angeles area and can be streamed nationwide on the PBS app.
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