I don't have some long polished speech about this. I just know I cry, and that says a lot about how broken this care system feels when you are the one living inside it. When people use hashtags like care system, care kids, and mental health, they are talking about real lives, real pain, and real kids who are carrying more than they should ever have to carry.

Too many young people in care are expected to survive instability, isolation, and trauma without getting real mental health support when they need it. We are told to be patient, to wait, to keep going, while the system keeps moving like our pain is normal. It is not normal. It is not okay for kids in care to be left struggling, overwhelmed, or in crisis without timely counseling, therapy, and support that actually reaches them.

I am calling on state child welfare agencies to make timely mental health care a basic standard for every young person in the care system. That means making sure screenings happen early, referrals do not sit for months, and support is available no matter where a child is placed. Mental health care cannot be treated like an extra. If the system is responsible for our safety, then it has to be responsible for making sure we are not breaking down in silence.

If you have ever felt ignored by the care system, watched someone you love fall through the cracks, or know that care without mental health support is not real care at all, please sign this petition. We deserve a system that helps us heal, not one that leaves us crying for help.