DREION is a husband, father, electrifying singer-songwriter, musician, producer, and performing artist originally from Omaha, Nebraska. He experienced the foster care system as a child at the age of seven, and his story is one of trauma, tragedy, and triumph that the world needs to hear. Today, DREION uses his music to inspire and shed light on this underserved community through powerful storytelling and intentional experiences.
In this episode, you’ll hear DREION openly share his painful experience of entering foster care, why he holds a passion to advocate for foster care reform, the hope he holds for the future, why music holds such a meaningful place in his soul, and his message for other current or former foster youth.
Listen in!
TAKEAWAYS FROM TODAY’S CONVERSATION:
1. Foster care is often a multi-generational issue.
Many factors contribute to children entering foster care. DREION shares in this episode how his mother’s trauma had a direct impact on his childhood. Even though she did her best, there were many factors stacked against them.
“My mother was a 17-year-old child raising a child. She had me her junior year of high school and so she made a lot of mistakes but she did the best that she could. But there were a lot of things from her childhood and her trauma that she brought into my life.”
2. Entering foster care is a traumatizing experience.
Children often don’t know what a foster home is and are blindsided when they enter the foster care system. If an incident happens outside the home, they may not have access to their belongings to take with them. It can be a very scary and traumatizing experience.
“I asked, ‘Am I ever going to see my mother or my family again?’ The police officer said, ‘I don’t know.’”
3. Current circumstances do not dictate your future.
Every child’s experience in the foster care system is different, and unfortunately many have a deeply negative journey through foster care. DREION experienced abuse, trauma, and people who did not support him in the way that he so desperately needed. He describes himself as a “survivor” of the system. However, his message of hope for every child in foster care is that their current circumstances do not dictate their future.
“Tell your story and don’t be afraid to say what happened to you. You are a survivor.”
- Connect with DREION on his website, Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube
- Join Team 3:10
- Music is Unity Foundation
- Foster Boy (Movie)
- First Star Academies
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Meet Our Guest
DREION is a husband, father, electrifying singer-songwriter, musician, producer, and performing artist originally from Omaha, Nebraska. He experienced the foster care system as a child at the age of seven. Today, DREION uses his music to inspire and shed light on this very underserved community through powerful storytelling of his foster care journey. He is an activist for foster care reform and proudly partners with national foster care organizations.
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