Dignity in Displacement
Every day in New York City, a child enters the foster system carrying everything they own in a black plastic trash bag—a stark symbol of the dehumanizing and traumatic experience they are about to endure. The Dignity in Displacement campaign will work to change that reality and secure proper luggage for every New York young person going through foster care transitions.
The Problem
For many former foster children, including Next100 Policy Entrepreneur Sofie Fashana, possessions are more than just objects; they are symbols of our identity, our history, and our worth.
How New York Is Falling Short
New York State currently has a pilot program called “My Bag” that distributes duffel bags to foster youth, but this program falls short.
- New York City, which has the largest population of youth in foster care in the state with over 7,672 children, received zero bags in 2023 from the “My Bag” initiative.
- Children in the New York City foster care system, on average, experience three different placements during their time in care and face frequent transitions, totaling 22,000 average annual transitions.
- Inefficiency: Bags often reach local Departments of Social Services (LDSS) but may not be given directly to children and young adults.
Other states have done it! Oregon, Texas and Maryland have passed bills to ban the use of trash bags and mandate proper luggage for all children and young people during transitions. These bills include a recording component that forces agencies to follow through with enforcing the ban on the use of trash bags.
Voices of Young New Yorkers
“I did not feel comfortable; it felt like me being rushed to move was more important than dignifying me as a human. I think the least our agencies can do regarding this matter is provide us luggage so that we can move in a dignified manner”
–23 year-old
“A lot of times when I was moving group home to group home my belongings were packed in big black garbage bags . even to the point where my things got mixed up with trash and my belongings got thrown out and i was transported with trash not knowing”
–21 year-old
“My stuff wasn’t seen as a priority in their eyes. They picked up what they felt like carrying and threw away the rest. Having to travel in trash bags or in beaten up boxes became my new norm that I never even stopped to think that isn’t how you treat a person’s belongings”
–23 year-old
Mandate Proper Luggage for Children in Foster Care
Join the campaign in support of mandated proper luggage for all foster youth in New York.
“The treatment of our belongings, often relegated to trash bags, leaves us feeling degraded, dehumanized, and traumatized and sends us a clear message: ‘you are worth the same as trash.’ Children in New York City deserve better; yet, they currently have no legal guarantee of a dignified transition with the proper luggage.”
–Sofie Fashana, Next100 Policy Entrepreneur