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Precious Rooks
12 years in Foster Care
25 years old
She/her/hers
Precious Rooks has been telling her story and advocating for young people in foster care since she was seventeen years old. She has shared her experiences through her work with several agencies, including the North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC), the Keep, ACH Child and Family Services, and PALS Family. Precious dreams of becoming a best-selling author and a motivational speaker. As a member of the AdoptUSKids speakers bureau, she will continue to fine tune her public speaking skills, advocate for foster youth, and share her story.
In 2015, Precious launched a peer-to-peer mentoring program, which earned her special recognition as Youth Advocate of the Year in her community. She volunteered to lead support groups and trainings for foster parents and youth, and also lead teen groups during respite nights for foster parents through A World for Children. As a mentor, Precious helps connect her peers with resources they need as they navigate and transition out of foster care.
Precious spent twelve years in foster care. Through her experience, she learned that being ripped away from everyone and everything you hold dear can scar you mentally, and that many foster youth develop a cement wall of abandonment, distrust, and fear that they must find a way to break through. Now as an adult herself, Precious is able to reflect back on her time in the system more positively. She wants to continue to share her story and advocate passionately for the youth in the system today. To inspire and encourage young people to take all the hurt and pain they may feel and create their own destiny.