Former foster child featured on TeenNick for advocacy efforts

By Staff Writer

Teen advocacy groups can have a huge impact on their communities. For example, Lauren Huichan, a young woman from New Mexico, was an at-risk youth before becoming involved with community activities.

At the age of 12, Huichan was removed from her abusive household. From there, she bounced between foster families and engaged in dangerous behavior such as abusing drugs and getting into fights.

Once she was placed in a treatment program, Huichan became involved in an advocacy group for foster youth, where she met other teens who had a similar background. She then re-enrolled in high school at a charter school that gave her the flexibility of learning online.

Today, Huichan is a freshman at the University of New Mexico, where she plans to major in psychology. She has continued her involvement as an advocate for foster youth.

She was also recently featured on the television channel TeenNick as a HALO award winner. The foundation partners teens who are Helping And Leading Others (HALO) with celebrities. Huichan was matched with Mariah Carey for her passion of helping children.