Impact Stories

Meet Ma’Kia

Ma’Kia’s Story

My name is Ma’Kia West; I’m 20 years old.

I first entered foster care when I was 14 years old. My mother had passed away when I was 10, and my father didn’t handle it well. He turned to drugs and alcohol.

I moved a lot during my time in foster care: start over at new schools all the time, make new friends all the time, get to know new neighborhoods.

I turned 18 and was completely lost. I didn’t know what I was doing, and I still didn’t really have stable housing, and I found myself homeless and broke.

Before I came First Place, I didn’t have anything. I was definitely scared. I was, in a sense, kind of unprepared because I didn’t know what to expect. That’s what they’re trained for. They know that you don’t just walk in knowing exactly what’s going to happen. But they help you build your confidence, really, and that’s what I needed.

They gave me a place to live and helped me with school and employment, budgeting, transportation.

For the first time in a long time, I felt like I wasn’t alone.

Everybody was just such a great help. My youth advocate, my education specialist, and even the people who teach the workshops. It feels kind of good having someone actually care about what’s going on in your life and saying “if you do need anything.” In a way it kind of feels like a big happy family.

Anything that I need, they’re there for. They’re there to listen; they’re there to help.

In the Media

Advancing Equitable AI in the US Social Sector

One example of an organization using AI to support evidence-based decision-making is First Place for Youth, an organization that helps foster youth make a successful transition to self-sufficiency and responsible adulthood. First Place for Youth built a recommendation engine that uses precision analytics—a technology that predicts trends and behavioral patterns by discovering cause-and-effect relationships in data—to analyze program administration and case assessment data, and learn from differences in outcomes among youth.

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Blog

March is ‘Stay Paid’ Month at First Place!

March is ‘Stay Paid’ Month at First Place for Youth where we acknowledge all of our young people’s efforts in […]

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Blog

Empowering Young Lives: Updates from My First Place™ Program Launch in New Jersey 

Nearly six months ago, First Place for Youth and the New Jersey Department of Children and Families (NJ DCF) launched […]

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