Kingsville man who spent 11 years in foster care upset after child advocacy office axed
A Kingsville man, who spent eleven years in Ontario's foster care system, has been stung by the provincial government's decision to close the Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth.
Last week, the Ontario government announced in its fall economic statement it would be closing the child advocate office, moving its responsibilities to an expanded Ombudsman's office — one of several cuts announced by a government that has said Ontario faces a $14.5-billion deficit.
But there's a move to have that decision overturned. One group has started an online petition to make that happen, and among those to sign it is Ryerson University student Sebastien Martin-Schultz — originally born in Kingsville, Ont.
"I was very upset, and I still am upset. It was very saddening to me," said Sebastien Martin-Schultz, who was a foster child from the age of seven to 18.
"Immediately, my heart sank. I hold the office very near and dear. Not only just from volunteering with them but from working with them, I know how passionate everyone is there and I know the tangible effect that the office has."
In 2016, Martin-Schultz was awarded the Ontario Medal for Young Volunteers by the lieutenant-governor of Ontario. In recent years, he has volunteered for projects within the Child Advocate's office as well as with the Windsor-Essex Children's Aid Society.
Describing his own experiencing in the foster care system, Martin-Schultz said the child advocate's office provides a voice to those who don't have one or have a hard time expressing themselves.
"If a youth is seeing an injustice within a household or if they've having a lot of issues, there's a few different programs that can help with that — in that, they'll send an advocate down to actually handle not only the situation personally, but will try to get a resolution with systems to help that child."
He said the office would also facilitate summits where representatives from each province would come together to discuss issues and topics would which would allow the "youths' voice to be heard."
"I remember a lot of the time, we would go up. We would talk about certain documents ... We would set up Child Youth and Care Day, which is the mandated event held on May 14 where we would create a day celebrating youth-in-care," he said, adding the day is very meaningful to a lot of students.
In 2013, the Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth released a report called My Real Life Book: Report from the Youth Leaving Care Hearings, which deals with "the actual occurrences that goes on in a lot of foster homes that a lot of people don't know about," according to Martin-Schultz.
He eventually went on to work as the office's social media coordinator, managing its outreach to ensure that "our voice could be heard on all channels."
"I know the tangible effects. Being the social media manager, I got to see kids reach out and see situations that were going on. When I see the office even sending out an advocate, I know how much of an effect it has in terms of how much change it can effect," said Martin-Schultz.
He added he was fortunate to have been raised by a "fantastic" foster parent who taught him values he was able to bring into the office. But others aren't so lucky.
He said many children in the foster care system deal with mental health issues or have parents who can't support their specific needs, and the office is crucial in making up for that lack of support.
"I would hate for it to shut down and be swept under the rug by a government that doesn't know better."
