Hope in Action is a series to highlight the aspects of our volunteer work. Advocacy for a child, whether in child welfare, juvenile justice, or truancy systems, covers several activities from court hearings to visits with a child to conversations with parents. Each month, we share a story of small (or big!) moments from one of our cases that exemplify what advocacy can mean to children and their families.

Inspiring Hope: Supporting a Young Designer’s Passion for Fashion

When 16-year-old Maya* arrived at an emergency shelter, she had nothing but the clothes she was wearing. After her mother experienced another mental health crisis that led to police involvement, Maya told the CPS investigator she couldn’t handle her mom’s unpredictable behavior anymore.

Following a lifetime of instability, Maya was removed from the home, and her mother sought help at a mental health facility.

Meeting Maya

Volunteer Advocate Lauren visited the shelter to meet Maya and quickly learned her favorite video game (Dress to Impress) and TV show (“Say Yes to the Dress” ) and interests (fashion, drawing, and clothes). Maya shared her goal of becoming a fashion designer and attending the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.

“I told her, ‘You need a sewing machine!’” Lauren said. “She said she already had a machine at home that she’d love to have with her. She also asked about getting some of her favorite clothing items at home.”

Lauren began coordinating with the placement, Maya’s CPS caseworker and attorney, and her mom to make that happen.

“She can put together amazing outfits, down to the shoes,” Lauren said. “Fashion is not only how she expresses herself, but also how she copes with life. She can have a bad day at school, but a cute outfit gives her the confidence to finish the day strong and believe in herself.”

Advocating for the Sewing Machine

Initially, the shelter turned down the request for a sewing machine due to safety concerns.

“I talked to everyone to let them know having the sewing machine would be therapeutic for Maya, that it would be good for her to have a creative outlet,” Lauren said.

Thanks to Lauren’s persistence, the placement agreed Maya could have her sewing machine. Lauren worked with Mom to help her find all the bobbins, presser feet, and other accessories needed to use the machine, and her mom brought the beloved machine to the next visit.

“Having the machine also helped with school,” Lauren said. “She’s enrolled in a fashion class, and she’d been hand-stitching all her assignments outside of school. Once she had the machine, she could complete her work faster.”

Nurturing Her Talent

As a budding fashion designer, Maya jumped right into her fashion courses at her new high school.

“Her drawings are exceptional,” Lauren said. “She has real talent as a designer. I picked up some watercolor pencils from the Child Advocates toy room, and she’d never used them before. During that visit, she started sketching designs and taught herself a new art medium.”

Lauren and her co-Advocate, Mark, started gathering materials to support her talent.

“I pillaged all the fashion magazines and books at a public library bookshop. We take her anything we can find. Mark found a beautiful book we’re trying to get for her, called Fashionpedia. It’s a visual dictionary of fashion design.”

Maya loved all the magazines, even the ones from 20 years ago.

“She was paging through them and gushing about her ideas,” Lauren said.

Stability and New Opportunities

Her new home has also provided opportunities to be a typical teenager.

“You can see a sigh of relief in her,” Lauren said. “Some pressure has been lifted. She’s got a lot to work through, but she’s happy and she’s already made two friends at her new school.”

Maya had not been in school for several months, and her only friends were two girls she met in an online game.

“Her mother’s mental illness isolated her—she wasn’t allowed to do anything or leave the house,” Lauren said. “She’s getting to be herself now.”

She’s exploring her interests—art, music, anime, and especially fashion. She sketches elegant gowns and whimsical anime-inspired outfits, talks excitedly about fabrics and colors, and even designed a full sketch of Lauren’s favorite skirt the moment she saw it.

She is also preparing for an end-of-year fashion show for her class. Her advocacy team is planning to attend and cheer her on.

Looking Toward Permanency

While Maya focuses on school, her advocacy team along with her CPS caseworker and attorney are working to find a permanent placement for Maya. Her father, who lives out of state, recently suffered a serious health setback that left him temporarily unable to care for Maya. He is committed to healing and hopes to reunite with Maya at the end of the school year.

Rediscovering Hope

In the meantime, Maya has support, structure, and space to discover who she is—an artist, a designer, and an extraordinarily hardworking student.

“She’s such a neat, sweet kid,” Lauren said. “And I’m just glad I could help her reconnect to her passion for sewing and creating while she was in foster care.”

Sometimes hope looks like a sewing machine from home, and an Advocate who makes it happen.

*Names changed for privacy.