TrueSacNINER
06-10-2006, 11:31 AM
Foster children get a new advocate
49ers QB Smith draws inspiration from Fisher's real-life drama
By Roger Phillips, STAFF WRITER
SANTA CLARA — Antwone Fisher was born in prison to a single mother and raised in institutions until landing in an abusive foster home.
Alex Smith was born to a stable family and has never known any other way of life.
When Fisher turned 18 in 1977, his governmental assistance ran out, and he lived for months on the Cleveland streets.
Four years ago when Smith was 18, he was headed for collegiate success at Utah, both on and off the football field.
By the time Fisher was 20, he had joined the Navy and found a measure of stability.
When Smith was 20, he was chosen first in the NFL draft and signed a contract with the San Francisco 49ers that guarantees him at least $24 million over its life.
Last year, these disparate lives converged.
Smith and his mother, Pam — a high-ranking Health and Human Services official in SanDiego County — attended a child-welfare conference in Monterey. Fisher — who penned a memoir of his troubled childhood that became the 2002 movie "Antwone Fisher" — was the keynote speaker.
As it turned out, Fisher and the Smiths were seated at the same table, and they hit it off. And when the Alex Smith Foundation is formally launched at a private event next week in San Francisco, Fisher will be the evening's special guest.
Smith's foundation will seek to assist Bay Area foster children as they prepare for the transition into adulthood.
"Sometimes you just meet people and like them," Fisher, 46, said of Smith during a telephone interview this week, thinking back to that day in Monterey. "Obviously, he didn't grow up as a foster kid, but apparently he has a feeling for the subject. He has had good fortune. I think it's great he's taken interest in an aspect of the issue."
Smith said he has drawn inspiration from Fisher.
"He's just such an amazing story, an amazing person," Smith said. "I asked him if he'd come help me out on my endeavor. I want to be successful with this. I don't want this just to be holding a golf tournament every year. I really want to try to accomplish something."
According to Michael Nash, presiding judge of Los Angeles Juvenile Court, there are 500,000 foster children in the United States, and 100,000 of them live in California.
On their 18th birthdays, they are largely left to fend for themselves. The Children's Law Center of Los Angeles reports that within two years of leaving the system, 50 percent wind up unemployed, nearly one-third become homeless and one-quarter end up in jail. Smith rattles off these statistics with ease; the 49ers can only hope he is as proficient with his playbook.
Fisher, who lives in the Los Angeles area with his wife and two young children, has been one of the exceptions to the dismal foster-care statistics. At first, though, success seemed distant.
When he was 18, Fisher moved into a men's shelter in Cleveland, but fear of some of his fellow residents drove him to the streets. Christmas 1977 neared, the temperature dropped, he tired of sleeping in storefronts and in the snow, and he saw a sign one day inviting him to join the Navy and see the world.
The Navy was his way off the streets, but Fisher said he already had discovered the means for surviving his harsh existence.
"I would only think about today," he recalled, "and try to make today the best day. I stumbled upon that. The days turned into months and then into years."
Not everyone is so fortunate, and Smith is hoping his foundation will help smooth the path for foster children as they near adulthood. According to Abbey Smith, Alex's older sister and the executive director of the foundation, the focus will be on developing programs in six areas: political advocacy, education, mentoring, housing, internships and jobs.
"Alex is in a position to leverage a lot of these things," Abbey said. "He knows people who own businesses or work for companies who can help do this."
Alex said that when he finishes his football workday, his foundation efforts and growing knowledge of the foster-care issue help him maintain his perspective and keep him "grounded."
Smith said it is the contrast between his life and the challenges faced by children raised in foster homes that first attracted him to the cause.
"I almost am the anti-foster kid," he said. "I've had everything, every step up in life. When I turned 18, it wasn't like my parents kicked me into the street.
"I think it's kind of ridiculous that for foster kids, when they turn 18, all government assistance ends, and you're expected in the state of California to get a job, to be able to pay rent. With the cost of living, it's kind of a joke. It's a population in our society that kind of gets forgotten about."
http://www.49erswebzone.com/content/news/view.php?id=5536
Good JOb Alex Smith way to use your BIG BUCKS to help the community..........
49ers QB Smith draws inspiration from Fisher's real-life drama
By Roger Phillips, STAFF WRITER
SANTA CLARA — Antwone Fisher was born in prison to a single mother and raised in institutions until landing in an abusive foster home.
Alex Smith was born to a stable family and has never known any other way of life.
When Fisher turned 18 in 1977, his governmental assistance ran out, and he lived for months on the Cleveland streets.
Four years ago when Smith was 18, he was headed for collegiate success at Utah, both on and off the football field.
By the time Fisher was 20, he had joined the Navy and found a measure of stability.
When Smith was 20, he was chosen first in the NFL draft and signed a contract with the San Francisco 49ers that guarantees him at least $24 million over its life.
Last year, these disparate lives converged.
Smith and his mother, Pam — a high-ranking Health and Human Services official in SanDiego County — attended a child-welfare conference in Monterey. Fisher — who penned a memoir of his troubled childhood that became the 2002 movie "Antwone Fisher" — was the keynote speaker.
As it turned out, Fisher and the Smiths were seated at the same table, and they hit it off. And when the Alex Smith Foundation is formally launched at a private event next week in San Francisco, Fisher will be the evening's special guest.
Smith's foundation will seek to assist Bay Area foster children as they prepare for the transition into adulthood.
"Sometimes you just meet people and like them," Fisher, 46, said of Smith during a telephone interview this week, thinking back to that day in Monterey. "Obviously, he didn't grow up as a foster kid, but apparently he has a feeling for the subject. He has had good fortune. I think it's great he's taken interest in an aspect of the issue."
Smith said he has drawn inspiration from Fisher.
"He's just such an amazing story, an amazing person," Smith said. "I asked him if he'd come help me out on my endeavor. I want to be successful with this. I don't want this just to be holding a golf tournament every year. I really want to try to accomplish something."
According to Michael Nash, presiding judge of Los Angeles Juvenile Court, there are 500,000 foster children in the United States, and 100,000 of them live in California.
On their 18th birthdays, they are largely left to fend for themselves. The Children's Law Center of Los Angeles reports that within two years of leaving the system, 50 percent wind up unemployed, nearly one-third become homeless and one-quarter end up in jail. Smith rattles off these statistics with ease; the 49ers can only hope he is as proficient with his playbook.
Fisher, who lives in the Los Angeles area with his wife and two young children, has been one of the exceptions to the dismal foster-care statistics. At first, though, success seemed distant.
When he was 18, Fisher moved into a men's shelter in Cleveland, but fear of some of his fellow residents drove him to the streets. Christmas 1977 neared, the temperature dropped, he tired of sleeping in storefronts and in the snow, and he saw a sign one day inviting him to join the Navy and see the world.
The Navy was his way off the streets, but Fisher said he already had discovered the means for surviving his harsh existence.
"I would only think about today," he recalled, "and try to make today the best day. I stumbled upon that. The days turned into months and then into years."
Not everyone is so fortunate, and Smith is hoping his foundation will help smooth the path for foster children as they near adulthood. According to Abbey Smith, Alex's older sister and the executive director of the foundation, the focus will be on developing programs in six areas: political advocacy, education, mentoring, housing, internships and jobs.
"Alex is in a position to leverage a lot of these things," Abbey said. "He knows people who own businesses or work for companies who can help do this."
Alex said that when he finishes his football workday, his foundation efforts and growing knowledge of the foster-care issue help him maintain his perspective and keep him "grounded."
Smith said it is the contrast between his life and the challenges faced by children raised in foster homes that first attracted him to the cause.
"I almost am the anti-foster kid," he said. "I've had everything, every step up in life. When I turned 18, it wasn't like my parents kicked me into the street.
"I think it's kind of ridiculous that for foster kids, when they turn 18, all government assistance ends, and you're expected in the state of California to get a job, to be able to pay rent. With the cost of living, it's kind of a joke. It's a population in our society that kind of gets forgotten about."
http://www.49erswebzone.com/content/news/view.php?id=5536
Good JOb Alex Smith way to use your BIG BUCKS to help the community..........