Ramon: A Success Story
In just seven months at Rediscovery Ramon has come a long way. Early in high school Ramon started to hang out with a group of friends who “brought him down.” He didn’t take high school very seriously and he started to get in trouble with the law. During his junior year he decided to buckle down and take school seriously. He was the first in his immediate family to graduate from high school. Just after graduation he came to Rediscovery with only a vague idea of what to do next. He decided that he wanted to continue his education and become the first person in his entire family with a college degree. His poor decisions early in high school meant that he wasn’t eligible for a four-year college, but Ramon enthusiastically enrolled at Mass Bay Community College. He is starting his second semester studying criminal justice. He chose to study criminal justice because he was intrigued by what he saw on shows like Law & Order and CSI. Ramon wants to know more about the law and wants “to make the community better” by being a probation officer or forensic scientist. He plans to complete two years at Mass Bay and transfer to UMass Dartmouth, UMass Lowell or Northeastern. Ramon feels that his chosen career will help him start “paying back the community with respect” for what he did when he was younger.
Another of Ramon’s major accomplishments at Rediscovery is getting his first legal job. He is in his fourth month of working at More Than Words Bookstore in Waltham. After his first two months he was promoted and continues to excel at work. Ramon is extremely dedicated to his work and his school. Rediscovery is very proud of all that he has accomplished and can’t wait to see his future success!
Mission
Rediscovery, Inc. uses an integrated, wrap-around, continuum of residential, educational, vocational, and clinical services to prepare youth leaving state custody to thrive independently as adults, while simultaneously creating a support network that ensures client needs are addressed adequately.
Key Accomplishments
- 72% of youth have either received a high school diploma or GED or are on track to do so before leaving care, compared with 33% average among youth aging out of foster care.
- 38% of youth are pursuing post-secondary education
- 96% of youth have gained employment experience while in our program, compared with 31% average among foster care youth
- 97% of youth are in permanent housing after leaving our program. In California, one third of former foster care youth are homeless within one year of leaving care.
- Started the only formalized alumni program in Massachusetts to date
