This month, FosterMore is honored to highlight Demonte Thompson, who has dedicated his life to supporting youth in foster care and youth experiencing homelessness.
Currently, Demonte runs his own nonprofit, Twinspire, which advocates, empowers, and educates marginalized young adults and youth in foster care by equipping them with financial literacy & life skills so they can pursue educational and career opportunities. However, Demonte had to overcome a tremendous amount of adversity and hardship to get where he is today.
“I was placed in foster care as an infant with my twin brother. Fortunately, my great-uncle took legal custody, and we were placed in kinship care. We were emancipated from care at 18. I wrote a book then to describe my experience in care and urge foster youth to pursue higher education,” says Demonte. After getting his Master’s degree from the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies, he now successfully runs Twinspire to support youth whose shoes he was once in.
When asked to reflect on an inspiring moment while working in higher education, Demonte says, “I had the honor of supporting a set of twins who were able to traverse the foster care and education system. They became family to my twin brother and me. Surprisingly, they recognized our impact on national TV on the Kelly Clarkson Show.”
One of our key takeaways from Demonte is that there is no shortage of ways to get involved in the foster care community. From financially supporting foster care organizations, to adopting foster children, to volunteering at Twinspire’s events, there are countless opportunities to help youth in foster care and youth experiencing homelessness.
Thank you for your good influence in the community, Demonte Thompson. Your story continues to serve as a beacon of hope for countless youth around the nation.
