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Tyee Solutions Society Reporter Recognized as Adoption 'Champion'

Pieta Woolley honoured for shedding 'much needed light' on youth aging out of care.

Tyee Staff 3 Dec 2014TheTyee.ca

The reporter of a year-long Tyee Solutions Society series investigating the link between foster care and youth homelessness has received an award of special recognition from the Adoptive Families Association of B.C., an honour granted annually to "champions" who make exceptional contributions to the adoption community.

Pieta Woolley was honoured this year for her work on the solutions-focused journalism series "Failure to Launch," which looked at why the transition from adolescence to financially-independent adulthood proves so hard for so many young people -- and proffered some ideas about how to help.

Woolley was also recognized for her work on the Fostering Truth interactive feature, created in joint partnership with a volunteer digital design team from the Vancouver Film School.

The feature explored the stories of British Columbian kids "aging out" of the government care system, part of a larger Tyee Solutions Society investigation into what might be done to improve these kids' chances for success.

"Both pieces shed much needed light on the transition faced by youth in government care who are about to turn 19," a press release announcing the award stated.

Woolley attended the Adoptive Families Association of B.C.'s awards ceremony on Nov. 21 at Nikkei Place in Burnaby. "The evening was filled with stories about children who had been adopted, and the parents who adopted them. For me, it was an affirmation of how important forever parents are to all children and youth. I'd like to thank the AFABC for the very important work it does, giving this gift to so many vulnerable children and youth, and to the families who adopt them," she said.

Tyee Solutions Society produces solutions-oriented reporting that examines and explains the facts and identifies achievable solutions to issues impacting the lives of Canadians. Chris Wood is the editor.

"Working on the series with Pieta deepened my appreciation and admiration for the spirit of the kids trying to make a life for themselves in British Columbia after 'aging out' of the care we offer them as the public," Wood said.

"The project was a good example of why I love working with the Tyee Solutions Society. We were bringing some really cutting-edge journalism techniques to, we hoped, improve public understanding of an issue to the depth that commercial media can seldom provide. That Pieta is being recognized for her series' contribution to the public conversation around children in foster care indicates that we were right."

Woolley's reporting was produced by Tyee Solutions Society in collaboration with Tides Canada Initiatives, and funding was provided by the Vancouver Foundation. To learn more about Tyee Solutions, go here.

At its awards ceremony, the AFABC also presented its first ever Howard Legacy Youth Bursary, which provides financial assistance to current and former youth in care who are hoping to attend a trade, vocational or academic post-secondary program.  [Tyee]

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