Today we’d like to introduce you to Roquesa Brown Jordan and Marsha Austen
Hi Roquesa Brown Jordan and Marsha Austen, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Roquesa Brown Jordan has fostered over 50 children in the past seven years. Marsha Austen is the Director and Co-Founder of Hope in a Suitcase, a grass-roots and volunteer-run nonprofit that has provided new luggage, clothing and comfort items to over 25,000 children and teens in Los Angeles foster care.
Our story together began in fall of 2018, when Roquesa brought two young girls she was fostering to a free-of-charge “Shopping Day” at Hope in a Suitcase.
ROQUESA: 2018 is the year I met my daughter, Gianna. She was eight years old and had already been in six previous homes. She arrived to our home carrying a trash bag with only pajamas and two underpants, plus the clothing on her back. At the same time, I was already fostering Tamara, a nine-year old girl who had suffered neglect from her own family and as a result, was taken into the system. She came to me sad and scared, wearing clothes and shoes that were dirty and too small. She had no other belongings.
That fall, we signed up to attend a free “Shopping Day” at Hope in a Suitcase, which is held specifically for youth in foster care. With a career background in the fashion industry, I really liked the sound of such an event. I took Gianna and Tamara so they could personally pick out a few items. To be honest, my expectation was low and that they would come away with maybe a pair of sweats and a couple of t-shirts. This was NOT the case.
With the assistance of AMAZING and PATIENT volunteers, the girls each filled a new suitcase with an entire week’s worth of complete outfits and accessories that brought them joy and actually fit because they were able to shop for their own sizes and not just take what was handed to them. Not only were the clothes and shoes all NEW and branded, but they also received art supplies, toiletries, blankets and books too! I had never seen or experienced such a broad offering of brand new merchandise like this before, even from designer pop-up shops that I had attended regularly.
The girls left feeling VERY special. Tamara told me that she had never been treated so nicely by anyone and would “never forget that shopping day.”
The effects of Hope in a Suitcase went beyond just that day. A year and half later, Tamara (age 11 at that point) was on her way to live with and be adopted by the family that had also recently adopted her brother. As she turned around to hug me goodbye, she said, out-of-the-blue, that she wanted to be a “volunteer” when she grows up. I asked why. She pointed to the suitcase from Hope in a Suitcase and said, “I told you I would never forget.”
My husband and I have since adopted Gianna, along with her younger brother, James. She has come full circle and now volunteers with me at Hope in a Suitcase. To this day she reminds me of how special she felt after having such nice people help her choose luggage full of clothing. She has since outgrown the clothing, but she has not forgotten how that experience made her feel or the meaning of the word “gratitude,” which has since been her mantra.
MARSHA – Roquesa also works at Dimondale Adolescent Care Facilities, which provides residential programs and emergency housing for youth ages 12-18. I met her again during a cold and wet weather spell, when she picked up winter jackets and other warm clothing for forty+ kids in Dimondale’s care. Soon after, she agreed to join Hope in a Suitcase’s Board of Directors.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
MARSHA: As a volunteer-run organization outfitting over 3,000 local children a year, it’s a constant challenge to provide the new, on-trend clothing, shoes and hygiene essentials that our City’s highest need foster youth want and need. Serving children infant to age 18, we need help sourcing the full range of styles and sizes all the way up to adult and plus sizes!
When Roquesa first visited us, our “Shopping Days” program was still in the pilot stage. At that time, we were outfitting maybe 30-40 kids at each event.
These days, Team Hope outfits around 200 tweens and teens at each of our full-sized events. That’s in addition to the young children we deliver personalized prepacked suitcases and duffel bags to, the youth we serve via Hope Closets at emergency response and point-of-entry facilities and the kids social workers pull items for by way of weekday appointments at our Hope Boutique.
Children in foster care experience a lot of anxiety as they start a new school. Kids in school, especially tweens and teens, care deeply about fitting in with their peers. Bullying is a huge concern.
It’s core to our philosophy that children who have experienced trauma and separation through zero fault of their own be provided with a level of quality that we would all want for our own children if they were going through an unstable time. The items we provide are curated to help boost confidence.
One of our ongoing challenges is making sure our inventory, our space and our volunteer base all reflect an inclusive spirit. A high percentage of LGBTQ+ youth and children with learning disabilities are impacted by the foster care system. Due to pre-existing societal disparities, upwards 90% of the children and youth who visit our headquarters are Black or Latino. Our inventory of clothing, make-up, hair and skin care products needs to be well-suited to the priorities of the youth we serve.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
For our core crew of doers and board members, Hope in a Suitcase is a Labor of Love.
There are more than 30,000 children in the Los Angeles foster care system and a staggering percentage change schools three or more times while in care, continually shifting, moving and relocating. We get calls and emails every week about children who had to leave their current situations – often in the middle of the night – with nothing. That’s what gets us up and keeps us at it day in and day out.
As a volunteer- fueled effort, we are only as effective as the quality of our network. Every single person who TAKES ACTION on behalf of HOPE can change the outlook and circumstances of a vulnerable child. The fact that we’ve now outfitted 25,000 children and teens is only possible because of volunteers and donors stepping forward and saying time and again, “I can help.”
What form that impactful contribution comes in depends on each individual’s talents, disposition, connections and resources. For example, if you have connections to companies with access to the NEW ONLY items that will help a child starting a new chapter feel more confident, please tell them about Hope in a Suitcase and connect us now. Many clothing, shoe and beauty companies are community minded and actually welcome the opportunity to help local kids, receive a tax write-off and route overstock inventory to a worthy cause. Friend-to-friend outreach to the decision-makers is key.
Monetary donations in any amount are impactful and needed. All of our donation dollars go to our operations and supplies. We have only one full time employee + one part-time former foster youth. The rest of us are all volunteers and donors.
So far, thanks to many committed helpers, generous community members and our dedicated Board Members who keep this operation running day in and day out (Kathy Ayala, Barbara Bartman, Nicole Field Brzeski, Eufe de la Torre, Mark Freeman, Danelle Sherrod Geller, Amber Hartgens, Andy Horn, Stacy Kravetz, Tara Maxey, Margaret Meenaghan, Tami Swartz & Jaime Schwartzberg), we’ve pretty much never had to say “NO” to an eligible child in emergency need. But it’s a constant hustle, and we need all hands-on-deck to keep this going.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
MARSHA: It’s impossible to do this work without constantly thinking about the role of luck, as well as the roles of kindness and connectivity within our Los Angeles community.
Starting with the fact that the children and teens we serve were not dealt a great hand. The separation and loss they have experienced and the situations they are in are not due to decisions that they made.
And then you start thinking about how if one or just a few things were different, it could have been you or could be your own children in need of a hand up. How many times in your own life did the kindness or generosity of a stranger or someone you barely know help prevent a crisis or get you through a rough patch? Children learn to be kind to others by experiencing kindness from others. We can all be part of that process for a child.
In specific terms, I know we’re on the right path, because every time Hope in a Suitcase is hit with a challenge, be it large or small, it seems like someone appears offering up what we need. It started early on, when Matt Casden and West Coast Archives / Williams Data Management offered to donate storage, archival and delivery of our packed suitcases and duffels. We were incredibly blessed at the outset to connect with the Pritzker Foster Care Initiative, Shelter Partnership and the Water Buffalo Club (now We Benefit Children), all of which helped us get and keep the ball rolling.
One of our luckiest days was when we met Ruth Stalford, of Make Good, Inc., who offered to provide new books for all the kids we serve, and with whom we ultimately partnered to open our shared headquarters. The Emporium: Foster Resource & Literacy Centers houses both Hope in a Suitcase’s Boutique and operations (serving children infant to age 18) and Make Good’s TAY Boutique (serving transition-aged and former system-impacted young people ages 18 and above). Without them, we’d still be operating out of our home basements!
The list goes on. We feel so blessed by our committed volunteers who keep showing up with good vibes and can-do spirit. And for every person who galvanizes their school or workplace or community group to host a collection of new clothing items, or who connects us to grant maker or personally donates funds.
Each time someone steps up, that’s one more child who will experience the kindness of strangers. It’s a child who will be spared the lasting memory and stigma of carrying their belongings in a trash bag or showing up to school wearing clothes they get teased about.
There are so many topics that divide us these days, and there are many complex issues within the foster care system itself. The problems Hope in a Suitcase addresses are tangible and solvable, and we can all agree that our City’s most vulnerable children and teens deserve our care. Hope in a Suitcase is one simple effort where everyone can contribute something meaningful.
ROQUESA: I fully agree. Helping people feel validated, especially children who haven’t had a great start in life, has a way of becoming contagious. You can absolutely change the trajectory of a child’s life by meeting their essential needs. Something as simple as a nice pair of shoes or a warm jacket can completely alter the course of a child’s day or week or month merely by allowing them to be happy while they wear it. And whether you get forty minutes, three weeks or two years with a child, how you made them feel during their interaction with you definitely can make a lasting impression upon a child.
Never underestimate the fact that kindness is a super power. This is what fostering children has taught me. I have seen it firsthand as a foster parent with the children who were placed in my home, and I know that Hope in a Suitcase leaves an impact on children who have experienced our service.
Pricing:
- Each $150 monetary donation outfits a local child with new luggage, clothing, hygiene essentials & comfort items.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.hopeinasuitcase.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeinasuitcase/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hopeinasuitcase/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@hopeinasuitcase551/videos
