We Are Everywhere

“This [book] was conceived as a gift of inspiration to those young people who are currently aging out of government care. It was inspired and produced in collaboration with community-engaged artists Corin Browne and Patti Fraser with youth in care advocate Violet-Rose Pharaoh, whose own life had been shaped by the foster care system, and who has dedicated much her adult life to shifting the paradigm of youth in care from surviving to thriving. The content of this book was created in part through community-engaged gatherings of art making, conversation, and inquiry based on the question: ‘What do I know now that I would tell my 19-year-old self?’ The extraordinary ordinary individuals you will meet in the book have all shared the experience of growing up in government care. And there is a need to hear the stories of lived experience from the over one million Canadians who are connected to the foster care system. The narratives about being in a youth in care rarely speaks to the diversity of experience, the strength, the resilience, and the wisdom of the many, many individuals who lived and survived the government care system, and who are now living lives full of meaning and rich with experience. We are Everywhere is intended to be words of advice to youth who are still in care, but this book will challenge all its readers to reconsider the narrow story of those who survived government care.”—Provided by publisher.