Born in 1998 and raised in Indio, Esmeralda Munoz was placed in foster care with a relative as a baby. Her parents, who lived in Mexico, were in and out of jail and had drug problems. Munoz has 11 full and half siblings, all of whom were separated into foster homes.
At age 9, her biological mom suddenly appeared, but she eventually relapsed on drugs and was deported to Mexico.
“I resented her,” Munoz said. “In my mind, she didn’t want me because I wasn’t good enough.”
Munoz’s emotions were heightened after her biological dad (whom she met twice) and her foster dad ed away while she was in high school.
She began to follow a dark path.
“In my junior year of high school, I would sneak out at night, drinking and doing marijuana, hanging out with a bad crowd,” she said. “My grades suffered.
“I had suicidal thoughts and cut my wrist several times. My foster brother, Carlos, saw the scars and helped me.”
They had long talks, during which Munoz found her motivation to change.
“I didn’t know what I wanted. But I knew I didn’t want to be like my mom,” she said.
After leaving foster care at 18 and graduating high school in Indio, she moved to San Diego in 2016 to begin a new life. She attended Mesa College and later San Diego State University.
During college, Munoz enrolled in Just in Time for Foster Youth, a San Diego-based nonprofit dedicated to helping former foster youth make their way to success. She participated in programs aimed at college success, personal growth and financial literacy.
She believes these programs and hard work helped her succeed in college.
In 2020 she graduated summa cum laude with a degree in sociology.
The programs, including group and individual sessions, helped prepare her for college, develop a sense of belonging and reduce lingering emotions.
Munoz became a believer in Just in Time for Foster Youth.
She ed the organization’s staff straight from college and worked her way up the ladder. Today, she serves as director of Youth Services.
Just in Time helps foster youth, like Munoz, after they turn 18, leave the foster care system and are expected to make their own way.
The organization enrolls about 3,000 participants annually. Since 2007, about 77 percent of the 850 college-bound participants are still enrolled or have graduated.
Although many foster youth leave the system adjusted and well-prepared, many do not.
“They are often unprepared for adulthood,” Munoz said. “Some may not have had positive relationships or guidance. Some are angry and frustrated or burdened by bad experiences. They may be dealing with heightened emotions and are resistant to new relationships.”
A common theme of foster youth, Munoz explained, are feelings they don’t belong, insecurity and feeling powerless to make their own life choices. Then, at age 18, they are on their own.
“Often, their first reaction to my help is ‘you don’t understand my experience.’
“But I do understand. I’ve been there, and I tell them I’ve experienced the lack of belonging, insecurity and helplessness. I’ve hit bottom. But I survived and was inspired to better myself. They can, too.”
Just in Time offers programs that include guidance with basic needs, education, finances, job-readiness and interview techniques, among other subjects.
Cash assistance is available to help participants get started, but there are conditions. “It’s a partnership,” Munoz said. “They need to follow a plan to help themselves. It’s not a hand-out. It’s a hand-up. And, we follow-up every 30 days.”
In addition, the organization sponsors one-on-one and group discussions where participants share personal experiences.
“They can become emotional with participants crying,” Munoz said. “But they help build motivation and a sense of belonging.”
Munoz, a Point Loma resident, said she views participants as “rising leaders” whom she helps empower.
“In my life, I didn’t have the power of choice,” she said. “Now, I’m able to connect others and build relationships that lead to empowering people to make their own choices.”
About this series
Goldsmith is a Union-Tribune contributing columnist.
We welcome reader suggestions of people who have done something extraordinary or otherwise educational, inspiring or interesting and who have not received much previous media. Please send suggestions to Jan Goldsmith at [email protected]
