“JMG was there to help me when I needed it most.” JMG and Opportunity Passport® empower Maine foster care youth to become successful adults
Opportunity Passport® Participant Alexander Buzzell
As a youth in Maine’s foster care system, Alexander Buzzell said the odds were against him. “Fifty percent of foster youth graduate high school, and only 3% graduate from college,” Alexander noted. Alexander, now 25, a college graduate, married, and a construction superintendent in the renewable energy industry.
Alexander did not start school until he was 11. His mother suffered from mental illness and was concerned that he and his brothers would be taken by the state due to their living conditions. “With the help of my grandmother, I was able to enroll in school and join my peers. But my mother’s concerns were not unfounded because shortly after that, I entered the system, and that’s when my life began to change.”
Through his perseverance, Alexander excelled at school. Initially placed in remedial classes, he worked hard at school and moved out of them, making the honor roll by age 14. During his freshman year in high school, he joined JMG. Alexander reflected that his Specialists exposed him to the concept of financial literacy. Through his JMG experience, he gained skills that helped him learn the difference between a checking and savings account and how interest works. He gained an understanding of taxes, credit, and running a business. Alexander said the lessons he learned through JMG were “life-changing.”
After graduating from high school, Alexander took part in the financial literacy training offered by Opportunity Passport® (OP) to help him achieve an imperative need. “I realized that I needed help and that living in central Maine and riding my bicycle was not going to work for me. So I bought a car for $1,000 that summer, and I didn’t have enough money to put that car on the road, and Opportunity Passport® helped pull me through that.” Opportunity Passport® has supported more than 700 young Mainers, like Alexander, who are currently or formerly in foster care by providing them with financial literacy training and mentoring support.
Alexander faced additional challenges during his transition from high school to college. He found himself on academic probation and realized he had no idea how to manage his time, and he was often overwhelmed. He turned to his JMG Specialist at the University of Southern Maine, Randy Inosencio, who Alexander said was always there for him. Randy quickly helped get his financial aid reinstated and support him as he went from failing grades to a 3.2 GPA.
He continued to use his OP funds to pay for tuition and a laptop, but another pivotal moment in his life came during the pandemic when in the summer of 2020, he found himself homeless and living in his car in 90-degree heat. He credited JMG and OP for being there when he needed it most. “Not knowing what to do, I called my Opportunity Passport® Specialist, Kara Boone, and she quickly got me into a motel while we put together a plan to use my Opportunity Passport® funds to cover the double security deposit on the apartment that I live in today.”
He credits the support he received from JMG and the Opportunity Passport® program for his success as a young adult. “Looking back on some of the things that I accomplished, I don’t think they were spectacular feats, but putting myself in the shoes of my younger self, I am reminded of the hardships that I overcame, and I know I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the support I had from JMG and the OP Program.”
The support he received allowed Alexander to return to college and graduate from Southern New Hampshire University. “Statistics say that I should not be here. Yet with the help and support of JMG and the Opportunity Passport® program, I beat the odds and my story has just begun. I’m not afraid to ask for help anymore, and neither should anyone. After all, we’re all in this together.”
Help us create more success stories like Alexander's. Donations to JMG help us deliver on our mission to ensure students feel safe while having a sense of belonging, provide them with a continuum of support, and teach them transferable skills that help them create opportunity and economic security for a prosperous future.