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LIFE IN FOSTER CARE IS LIKE A SUBWAY RIDE
Warning: This audio production can be emotionally triggering to people suffering from PTSD, anxiety, depression or other mental health issues caused by adoption-loss or foster care experiences. If you are sensitive to emotional triggers similar to these I recommend you do not listen without having an understanding support person present. If you work in any way with foster children or in the adoption field, if if you are a student in social work, this 13 minute MP3 radio production is a emotionally powerful educational or professionally useful tool which takes you on a virtual subway ride -- with sound-effects, narration, and music -- through my childhood of sixteen years in foster care and thirteen homes. I created this documentary for CBC RADIO's old show "OUT FRONT" and it was broadcast across Canada and once again when voted a "listener's favorite". 
Gary Dumbrill, Professor of Social Work at McMaster University
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Hi. My name's John Dunn. I'm a community advocate who truly believes that knowledge is power. I spent my entire childhood -- from 2 ½ until 18 years of age -- helplessly being moved thirteen times in Ontario's foster care system. Throughout those sixteen years, I never once had anyone tell me anything about the existence or purpose of the laws which governed the people and the organizations who made serious, life-altering decisions about myself and my family. Nor was I ever told how I could use those laws to have a say in what was happening to and around me, how to hold accountable those who had wronged me, or even that I had the right to do so.
When I was 31, I tried to obtain copies of my foster care records from the Catholic Children's Aid Society of Toronto for potential therapists to use in helping me repair some of the damage I obtained from my time in care, only to have the Society refuse to provide me with copies of my own records with no explanation as to why. I was furious! Consequently, I was driven down a ten-year journey of anger and frustration made up of literally thousands of hours of research on law, advocacy, and corporations, how these child protection agencies are structured, which laws govern them, and how to apply that knowledge to bring positive change and to assist people who had to navigate their way through the courts when a Children's Aid Society became involved in their lives. I made submissions to legislators at both the federal and provincial levels of government regarding Children’s Aid Societies and related child welfare legislation, policies, and practices, demonstrated to people how they could advocate for themselves and others when they became involved with the system, and in the process, became a trusted go-to source for the media when child-welfare matters became the focus of their attention. After helping hundreds of people in various ways over the years, and spending literally years on-line answering thousands of questions, I realized that many Canadians have a very limited to no understanding of how our laws are made, how to actually read and understand them, or how to apply them when required to do so. That is why I wrote this book. I wanted to create an introductory to intermediate level book which could at least get people started in the right direction toward helping themselves or others when nobody else appears willing or able to so. I would like to thank you for supporting my work by purchasing my books and other online material or services and I hope they will assist you in accomplishing your goals. If after reading this book, you still find yourself having difficulty reading and understanding legislation, or, if you would simply like to join in on some discussions with other readers of my books, feel free to visit my online forum at www.johnsworks.proboards.com John Dunn |
Below is an interview of me when I was 17 years old after an entire childhood of 16 years worth of moving through foster care and foster homes, but especially after four years in an emotionally and physically abusive home. You can see how weak and emotionally timid of people I am even though they were there to help. Definitely signs of #PTSD
