What happens when you've been a 'ward' of the Crown as a child or teenager, and you get too old for government care? In British Columbia, that happens on the day you turn 19 -- and it can be traumatic.

There are a lot of horror stories about 'aging out' of the child welfare system. Too many young people struggle through the experience. A rare tragic few do not survive it.

Lost in our outrage over those unhappy worst cases is the fact that aging out for most young people is far less dire -- but still far from giving them a fair start on adult life. Youth who have been in public care are much less likely to graduate from high school and more likely to end up homeless than their parented peers.

But don't take our word for it. The Tyee sat down with three young people who have aged out of care in B.C. -- Shae-Lynn Noskye, Hari, and Jaye Simpson -- to ask them what other British Columbians need to know about aging out, and what could make the experience better.