Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — Nearly half of children in foster care in Utah are age 12 or older, and one Utah foster parent has made it her mission to facilitate a safe environment for many of these at-risk teens.
Rachel Garrett, of Bluffdale, has created what's called Common Thread, a community of volunteers seeking to provide a support system for teens who have been "impacted by foster care and/or other similar lived experiences." The organization holds free events in the Salt Lake Valley several times a month.
Common Thread is a nonprofit organization that officially began in 2021, but Garrett said finding ways to help at-risk teens has long been a passion of hers.
"I was previously a high school educator, and I've been a CASA — which is a court-appointed special advocate — working with youth in the system," she said. "In graduate school, I studied child and adolescent development with an emphasis on trauma. I deeply care about youth, particularly those unsupported in our society."
Garrett, who is married with two children of her own, decided in 2019 to take that first step toward becoming a licensed foster parent, and in 2020, her family fostered their first teen. She got an insider's view into what she says is a lack of support for teens in similar situations.
"In an attempt to support the teens in our home and as they unify back to their families, I quickly saw that there's a lack of resources and spaces that are truly trauma-informed and based on evidence-based practices," Garrett said. "I wanted to really support these kids who were falling through the cracks — many who were misunderstood and often harmed by the systems built to support them."
Fueled by 'a little bit of rage'
Through her experiences with the at-risk teen population in Utah, Garrett has the qualifications to make a difference. That being said, there is one qualification that might not be on her resume, but she said it is a driving force. That qualification is "a little bit of rage."
"My drive to do this stemmed from this deep love for these kids who have changed my life, and then also a little bit of rage," she said. "I often feel so upset about the ways that so many of these kids have been harmed most of their childhoods. And I guess, on an intrapersonal level, I thought about what happens in my own home when kids' basic needs are met, and when they feel safety and love and empowerment and a consistent warm caretaking. It's wildly sacred to witness some of that transformation and healing.
"While I don't have control with any of the other kids or youth that are not in my home, I figured the next best step is to create a community that can rally around these kids and for kids to connect and show us what they need," she said.
Building a community
Garrett began her grassroots effort with a few volunteers at community events, and she said people "came out of the woodwork" wanting to help and offer services.
Volunteers include mental health professionals, chefs, artists, public speaking coaches and even equestrians offering lessons and horses for equine therapy use. Many organizations have donated space for events throughout the Salt Lake Valley. Of course, other foster parents like Garrett, who were looking for a place for their teens, stepped in to help build a supportive community.
If we can help to support youth before we hit a point where they've hit rock bottom, it's going to be better for our society and better for them as individuals and their families.
–Rachel Garrett, Common Thread founder
One such person is Kate Hulet, a special education teacher and teen foster parent.
"As a teacher who works with kids with trauma on a daily basis, I wanted to do more in my personal life to help, so we decided to foster," Hulet said. "I saw firsthand, in my professional and personal life, the disconnect between the resources teachers had and the needs of many of these at-risk teens. I connected with Rachel and Common Thread shortly after it started."
"The coolest part for me has been witnessing the connection with teens and safe adults," she said.
Common Thread was Garrett's attempt to create this family connection with other youths supported by adults who model healthy adult relationships.
In the nearly three years since Common Thread began, it has helped over 1,000 teens and hosted over 90 events. The volunteer-based staff has clocked over 20,000 hours, with many of those hours logged by teens in leadership positions within the organization.
Creating awareness
Creating a space for teens to connect, learn and heal in a supportive community is one piece of Garrett's vision. The other part is bringing awareness to the growing need for support in these spaces.
According to utahfostercare.org, the at-risk teen population in Utah, particularly in the foster care system, is not boding well. Data suggests that even though half of the children in the system are 12 and older, just 14% of kids who are adopted are from that age category, with 10% of them "aging out" of the system eventually.
Additionally, older youth are less likely to live in a family setting, with research indicating those placed outside a family setting are "less likely to form the kind of lasting relationships with responsible adults that will help them move toward independence."
Garrett hopes bringing attention to this will spark a conversation among people in a position to help.
"I think raising awareness to this space is so important," Garrett said. "I firmly believe that when we talk about all these systemic issues of incarceration and homelessness and young families in poverty — if we can go back further to the root of where some of these things are, and what they've experienced as youth — it will help to mitigate some of the crises that we're seeing across the state.
"I'm just really all about prevention," she continued. "If we can help to support youth before we hit a point where they've hit rock bottom, it's going to be better for our society and better for them as individuals and their families."
Common Thread is holding its back-to-school event Saturday at Central Park Community Center, in Salt Lake City, with registration available on the website. For more information on the programs Garrett and her team offer, or to donate, go to commonthreadut.com or follow commonthread community on Instagram.
