BOSTON — A woman from Lynn was at the Statehouse last month to testify in support of reforming the state Department of Children and Families’ policy on benefits owed to foster children.
Marissa Pike described her personal experiences in the foster-care system to the Joint Committee on Children, Families, and Persons with Disabilities in support of Bill H.157 / S.65, which would protect benefits owed to foster children that were collected when they were in the foster system.
“I spent 10 years in foster care, and of those 10 years, DCF received my Social Security benefits for six of them,” Pike said in her testimony. “Over $50,000 was collected and placed in the state’s overflow account.”
Pike had been in the foster-care system since she was 12 years old, after leaving an abusive household. When she left the system at the age of 18, she became housing insecure.
“The department stood back as they watched this newly 18-year-old struggle through adulthood like a fish out of water, completely forgetting that they had taken money that was supposed to improve my quality of life,” Pike said.
She said that the thousands of dollars the state collected from her Social Security benefits would have allowed her to find housing and transportation when she left her foster home.
She added that the policy left her at a disadvantage compared to other people entering adulthood.
“With that money, my life would have changed,” Pike testified. “To say that time period was hard is an understatement.”
After spending months at a time homeless in Lynn, Pike was eventually able to bounce around from multiple housing programs, including Centerboard in Lynn.
Now 25, Pike is herself a foster parent. A graduate of North Shore Community College, she currently lives and works in Lynn as an EMT.
Pike said it was important to share her story to show leaders the hurdles those leaving the foster system have when entering adulthood, which can often come with issues like homelessness and substance abuse.
“Ultimately, I can’t undo any of the things that have happened to me and I can’t change my circumstances,” she said. “But, I can ensure that not only my life improves, but the lives of the children entering the foster-care system tomorrow.”
