When I heard about how the Trump administration is trying to freeze federal spending on social services, the first thing I started to worry about was how this would affect the kids in the foster care system. As someone who works directly with these youth, I knew the impact would be devastating.

As a volunteer for the Foster Children’s Resource Center, both an organization and a physical store that provides free clothing to foster children and teens, I realize just how essential federal funding is towards this community. Most importantly, I started to recognize an overlooked problem in my community that requires additional funding and resources. A problem that I encountered more and more with the foster youth is body dysmorphia.

I’ll never forget “Sarah”, a beautiful high school senior who entered our store. However, I could tell she tried to hide herself from the world. She wore a huge, oversized fuzzy jacket, one that was three times her size. She wore a face mask and kept nervously combing her matted hair. When I tried to help her, she kept looking down and asked for our largest clothing size, 4XL clothing.

As I sifted through all the clothing racks and even the clothing in the back, I could not find 4XL clothing. I even asked the staff to help me, but no one could find that size for her. When I asked Sarah if she would be okay with a smaller size, she quietly told me that she didn’t like her body and that she only felt comfortable in clothing that was the largest size possible.

Sarah isn’t the only foster care teen who struggles with body issues. Out of the 400,000 children within the foster care system, 80 percent of them struggle with mental health issues. However, within the general population of teens, only 18-22 percent reported having mental health struggles. Half of children within the foster care system don’t have access to mental health services, which explains why this overlooked is becoming more prevalent and problematic.

Not only that, but statistics show that psychological disorders in youth have almost doubled due to COVID-19, and it’s either higher or heightened in foster care youth which I have noticed throughout the times I have volunteered.

Whenever I speak to foster teens similar to Sarah, many of them share with me how they started feeling insecure with their bodies around the ages of 12-13. Some believe looking “better” can encourage families to take them in. Some believe that looking a certain way can increase their acceptance into “normal” society.

Because foster teens have a higher frequency of experiencing an unstable family support system, they have higher incidences of low self-esteem, traumatic experiences, and fear of rejection; the main root of body dysmorphia, which is closely linked and can lead to eating disorders, anxiety, and depression.

Given the threat of massive federal funding imposed by the new presidential administration, I believe it is urgent for us to ensure that teens in foster care are not left out of the conversation. Because foster care teens experience a greater amount of adversity, they require more assistance with accessing mental health resources, care, and treatment. Additionally, this freezing of federal funds threatens spending on social services as well as funding that helps countless nonprofits assist foster care children. Most significantly, this freeze can heavily impact Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, which directly funds foster care as well as adoption services, child abuse and neglect block grants, and programs that help young adults age out of the foster care system.

As I continue my work at the Foster Children’s Resource Center, I’m reminded daily that our foster youth deserve more than just survival – they deserve to thrive in bodies and minds that feel like home to them. I will never forget Sarah’s story, for it reminds me how countless foster youth struggle with trauma, instability, and lack of mental health support. This is why the proposed federal spending freeze can greatly harm the most overlooked demographic: foster care youth.

Thus, I would like our community to stand up for these youth, to advocate for sustained and increased funding, and to create spaces where every foster child knows they are valued exactly as they are. Their bodies, their minds, and their futures depend on it.