These three awesome Lived Experience Leaders are making a huge difference as Peer Navigators. They've been through Oregon’s foster care system themselves, so they know exactly what it’s like. That real-life experience helps them connect with others and give super helpful advice to those facing similar challenges.

What's a Peer Navigator?

Peer Navigators are guides, advocates, and support systems for young people going through the tough transition from foster care to adulthood. Since they’ve been in foster care themselves, they really understand what peers are going through and can connect with them on a deeper level.

What Does a Peer Navigator Do?

Our Peer Navigators do a lot of important things:

• Outreach: They reach out to young people leaving foster care to ask about their lives and find out what they might need.
• Support: They use their own foster care experience to give practical advice and empathetic support to those facing the challenges of becoming adults.
• Data Collection: With permission, they collect answers to important questions and share this info with researchers. This helps improve the foster care system and gives youth a voice in making things better.

How Do They Get to Become a Peer Navigator?

Becoming a Peer Navigator involves three main steps:

1. Experience: You need to be a young adult (18 to 29 years old) who has been through foster care in the state where you will serve.. Your firsthand experience is super important for this role.
2. Training: You don't need any special training to apply. FosterClub will give you all the training you need to be ready to help your peers. The next cohort for Oregon will be recruited starting in September - let us know if you’re interested: [email protected].
3. Commitment: You need to be dedicated, available for 10 hours a week, and attend regular team meetings to talk about your work and get support.

Shout-Out to our Partners

This group of Peer Navigators does amazing work thanks to the support of the Oregon Department of Human Services Youth Transitions team. Their dedication to helping young people transition out of foster care is essential, and it allows our Peer Navigators to truly make a difference. Interested in partnering with us to launch a group of Peer Navigators? Contact [email protected].