Tashima Dukes Partners with Turning Points for Children to Celebrate National Foster Care Awareness

PHILADELPHIA - May 25, 2018 - PRLog -- Tashima Dukes – an author, behavior therapist, and foster care advocate –  has partnered with Turning Points for Children to help raise awareness about the unique challenges of children in the foster care system. The event marks the observance of National Foster Care Awareness Month and was held on Wednesday, May 23 at the Frankford CDC in Philadelphia.

Tashima, who is also a former foster child, was a featured speaker and shared an inspiring message about her journey to becoming an author and motivational speaker. Attendees included foster youth, parents and administrators. The program was also an opportunity to educate the community about free resources and the role that each of us can play in enhancing the lives of foster children. The evening ended with festivities such as prizes and food.

"As a former foster child, I look forward to every opportunity to give back," said Tashima Dukes. "I hope that my story will motivate others to succeed and also help create positive change in the foster care system."

The event was produced in partnership with Turning Points for Children – a local non-profit organization offering social and health services to vulnerable people. Turning Points, which began more than 175 years ago, provides in-home and community-based services for approximately 9,000 clients. The organization is able to access a comprehensive continuum of services through its affiliation with Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC). Children and their caregivers are offered services in the areas of primary care, behavioral health, financial services, parenting programs, workforce readiness and early childhood education.

ABOUT TASHIMA DUKES
Tashima Dukes is a former foster child who aged out of the foster care system after being placed in more than thirteen different foster homes in both Philadelphia and California. Today, she is author of Truth Be Told: A Foster Child's Recollection and known as a nationally recognized expert trainer and motivational speaker. Dukes works with children and families as a Marriage and Family Therapist. She has worked extensively with orphans and vulnerable children both nationally and internationally. More recently, she has worked with the chronically mentally ill as well as the criminally insane in acute, sub-acute, and forensic inpatient mental health facilities. She holds a certification in sexual abuse counseling, grief counseling, and Trauma Informed Care. She has three advanced master's degrees and is also a doctoral candidate studying Psychology. Dukes has appeared on the John Walsh Show on NBC, TV 48 Update with Catherine Pugh, internet radio with Dr. Bryan Post and internet radio with Pat O'brien. Likewise, Dukes has been featured in Your Powerful News, International, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, Gadsden Times, Gospel Praise Magazine, Booking Matters Magazine, The Pennstater, The Delta Voice (a publication of Delta Community Supports), and numerous other publications. For more information about Tashima, please visit http://tashimadukes.com/