From Foster Care to Fostering Independence: Christine Mendoza Tells Her Story

At 24 years old, Christine Mendoza now has an apartment that’s all her own. And for a girl who’s lived in foster care or group homes since she was 12, she thinks it’s a pretty big deal.

“This is actually the first home I’ve ever had,” said Mendoza, who’s getting rent assistance from Providence Service Corporation. “You should see it; it’s really cute.”

The social services organization, which she says is the parents she “never had and always needed,” also set her up with a job at , a clothing boutique in The Village. She’s using the money she makes there to go to college.

“My family doesn’t really have a history of going to college, so this is a pretty big step,” Mendoza said. “I’m excited and nervous.”

While she plans on starting off slow, taking a class in English and ceramics at Mesa College, she has decided to become a botanist in order to help people and discover alternative forms of medicine. She says she can’t stand society’s quick-fix solution of pill-popping for things as simple as a headache.

“I was a foster kid, and so I was constantly having pills shoved down my throat,” she said. “[They’d say], ‘Oh my God, you’re depressed―take a pill!’ ”