Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jessi Bierling. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jessi, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.

Back when I was only in high school, I took an elective class on Current Issues. We spent a few days learning about the foster care system and when I learned of the heartbreaking realities and outcomes that children in foster care face right here in my backyard, my heart broke and I thought, “Now that I know, I MUST do something…” My 17 year old self could not have comprehended what the future to come would look like, but in hindsight, I feel this moment was divine.

I pursued an education from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in Child Development & Pre-Health with Minors in Psychology and Religious Studies. Here I learned a trauma-informed approach to the holistic human experience that greatly set me up for understanding how foster care impacts the whole human being, the body keeping the score. I also interned with CASA, Court Appointed Special Advocates, and had the unique and raw opportunity of sitting in on private family court sessions that determine the trajectory of a child’s placement into a home.

Many years later, my life passion is for foster care, specifically going “upstream” with preventative services and advocacy at the policy level to help end the multi-generational cycle of foster care. I have worked at James Storehouse, a Resource Center serving the foster care community for 5 years, where I am currently the Associate Director. Formerly, I was the first Resident Director, or host parent, in our James Storehouse Transitional Home, living 24/7 with four teen girls aging out of foster care (ages 18-22), mentoring and assisting them as they transition into independent adulthood.

While on one hand I feel lucky to have a clear direction to my calling at such a young age, on the other hand (if I’m being fully honest), looking back I also feel like I was dropped into the deep end of my passion and learned how to swim as I went. In hindsight, all these early educational and career experiences have deeply prepared me for the hard, yet captivating and redeeming work of ending multi-generational cycles of foster care and it has been my absolute privilege to watch this happen in real peoples’ lives.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I have had the pleasure of working at James Storehouse, a foster care resource center located in Newbury Park, for multiple years, gaining a daily eye-witness perspective of the child and caregiving perspectives within the foster care system. Currently, I am the Associate Director of James Storehouse, providing foresight and leadership for the organization’s continued growth to best meet the growing needs in serving the community in new, creative ways.

James Storehouse serves children in foster care and former foster youth ages 0-26, “from cribs to college” – breaking multi-generational cycles of abuse, neglect and poverty through essential resources and healing relationships. Essentially, we provide a free, comprehensive safety net of support including: furniture, clothing, home goods, transportation, transitional shelter, food, support groups, and ongoing mentorship programs. These resources and relationships break cycles of adversity, mending broken families and preventing foster care removals for future generations to come. In fact, in 2023, 19,821 total people were served through appointments and deliveries for babies, children, youth and their caregiving families in Ventura County and Los Angeles County (this # does not represent unique individuals).

We care about this vulnerable population because the statistics are heartbreaking:
-Approximately 30,000 children are currently in foster care in Los Angeles County on any given day. For perspective, the Crypto Arena (formerly Staples Center) seats 19,000 people.

-Foster care is ground zero of 3 primary social issues:

50% of the homeless population spent time in foster care
75% of incarcerated individuals spent time in foster care
80% of domestic sex-trafficking survivors spent time in foster care

However, essential resources equip youth and families to move out of “survival mode.’ The next step is supportive, meaningful relationships, one of the greatest predictors of resiliency, which we provide through meaningful programs “beyond the resources.” The combination of free resources and meaningful relationships allow children in foster care to defeat the odds that are stacked against them and fully THRIVE in their unique identities.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I think one of the easiest perspectives to have when thinking about foster care is to blame the biological parents and cast them aside as “the bad guys.” I know this was true for me when I first started working in the field and learning about the abuse and neglect these children face. However, after spending some time in child welfare, I quickly learned how cyclical it is. For example, I remember one story of a 14 year old girl in foster care who had moved from home to home throughout her childhood years. As 70% of teen girls in foster care do, she got pregnant. Her baby was removed from her care and placed into foster care as well. In this case, here were two vulnerable children in foster care… but how could I blame the mother who was a victim of the trauma performed against her herself? Heartbreakingly, one of the greatest predictors of a child entering foster care is if that child’s primary parent was in foster care, the cycle repeating itself.

My lesson learned was this: What if we equipped and uplifted these young mothers with the financial and relational equity they need to break the cycle?

This support is the basis behind one of our primary programs at James Storehouse: Purposeful Parenting. First, social workers refer teenaged mothers to us for a baby shower. Not only do they get the dignifying experience of a celebration, but they also are provided with all the costly baby gear and items needed to parent a newborn. We host 2-4 baby showers per month. Next, these parents are invited to attend our Purposeful Parenting monthly support group providing essential life skills and a place to belong. Lastly, parents are welcome to continue receiving ongoing resources as their baby grows, such as diapers, clothing, car seats, beds and more.

We are happy to report that 100% of parents a part of this program are successfully parenting their children and breaking the cycle of foster care by default!

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

To be honest, providing quality essentials for free over the last decade has built a deep trust and relationship with our local Child and Family Services agency. Program managers from CFS have claimed that their whole child welfare system is greatly dependent on our support. Our reverse business model doesn’t make sense, yet it works, and I believe this is possible because of compassion and kindness that is in fact still engrained in humanity. As a 501(c)(3), everything we do has been provided by a community who cares, whether fiscal or in-kind donations. Connecting with our community through social media engagement, community events, and story-telling allows our business model to function. We see ourselves as the bridge, connecting real people who care to a vulnerable population in need of assistance.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jamesstorehouse.org
• Instagram: jamesstorehouse
• Facebook: James Storehouse California
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessi-bierling-81374b179/
• Twitter: JamesStorehouse