Ginger Rockey-Johnson's Contact Details

Ginger Rockey-Johnson's Company Details

Mama G's Home for Teens

Tampa, FL, US • 5 - 9 Employees
Social Services

Almost 50% are former foster youth who do not qualify for state programs. Suffering from a lack of education, lack of independent skills or vocational training, joblessness, no food or water, mental health, extreme trauma, no ability to care for themselves, and no family support, many of these youths turn to human trafficking, criminal activities, and substance abuse in attempts to survive a world they do not understand. The lack of stable family upbringing leaves them radically ill-prepared to be an adult much less a productive member of society. They have no knowledge of acceptable social norms and expectations nor will they care; they are in survival mode. This is a world-wide problem, not a problem that is unique to any one region of the world. I am Ginger Rockey-Johnson, dubbed "Mama G" by this population of youth, who I was called to work with. In 2015 I became an Advocate for teens in foster. Teens in foster care "age out" of the system of care when they turn eighteen. Some youth will qualify for the state's extended foster care programs, many will not. This phenomenon is due to their mental health issues, lack of education and inability to hold a job. Those youth, more than 33% of foster youth, will end up homeless. The first time one of my teens in foster care turned eighteen and was immediately homeless, I was horrified. Worse yet, despite all my attempts to advocate for the youth to get into extended foster care, all efforts failed. I couldn't do nothing. I had to take action to help and couldn't watch a youth who couldn't even feed themselves, be homeless. Now four years later, "Mama G" is known as being fiercely protective of the teenagers she is responsible for, both in foster care and those who aged out.