What does stability really mean for a child in foster care?

What does it really mean to give a young person in foster care a home?

Not simply a placement. Not just a bed. But a place where they feel safe enough, supported enough, and understood enough to begin to heal.

This week on Comfort Cases: UnPacked, Rob Scheer is joined from the United Kingdom by Trevor Elliott MBE, Managing Director of Kennedy Elliott and a longtime foster carer and advocate for vulnerable children and young people.

The conversation opens on a lighter and deeply personal note as Rob reflects on receiving his honorary degree from Lynn University and compares that experience with Trevor being awarded an MBE, Member of the Order of the British Empire, for his service to vulnerable children.

From there, the discussion turns to the work both men have devoted much of their lives to: improving the way children and young people experience foster care.

Trevor became a foster carer in his twenties and has spent decades supporting young people through fostering, residential care, mentoring, sports, and community programs. Today, his work focuses on creating environments where young people who have experienced trauma can build trust, stability, and a genuine sense of belonging.

Rob and Trevor also compare the foster care systems in the United States and United Kingdom, exploring the challenges both countries share, including placement instability, shortages of foster homes, changing pressures on caregivers, and the need to better prepare adults to support young people growing up in an increasingly complex world.

As Trevor puts it: “We need more homes for these kids.”

But more homes alone are not enough. Trevor also stresses the need for more “foster carers” and better training to give them the coping mechanisms and tools they need to support children growing up in today’s technology era.

Trevor Elliott MBE has dedicated much of his adult life to supporting vulnerable children and young people.

He became a foster carer in his twenties and went on to establish residential children’s homes across London while continuing to support young people through fostering, sports, mentorship, and community programs.

Trevor is Managing Director of Kennedy Elliott, which provides accommodation and trauma-informed support for young people ages 11–25 who have experienced significant adversity. Its approach focuses on creating safe, nurturing environments and dependable relationships where young people can heal, develop, and reach their potential.

Trevor has also used his platform to advocate publicly for children in care and to draw attention to the growing pressures facing the UK foster care system.

He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his services to vulnerable children.

Website: Kennedy Elliott

For those in our audience who are in Trevor’s home of the United Kingdom, a reminder that in 2022, Comfort Cases UK opened its doors, supporting the approximately 80,000 children and young people in foster care there.

Please consider supporting Comfort Cases UK by visiting: www.comfortcasesuk.org

To find out more about Comfort Cases, please visit our website: www.comfortcases.org.

You can also follow us on our social media channels:

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To listen to previous episodes of Comfort Cases: UnPacked, please visit www.comfortcases.org/podcast or your favorite podcast platform.

📩 Have thoughts, questions, or an idea for a future guest? Reach out at [email protected] — we’d love to hear from you!

Conversation Highlights About Trevor Elliott MBE Connect with Trevor Elliott & Kennedy Elliott

What happens when a young person turns 18 and the system that has been responsible for them suddenly expects them to figure out adulthood on their own?

For many young adults, leaving home for college comes with parents helping them move into a dorm, answering late-night phone calls, offering financial support, and reminding them that there is always somewhere to come home to.

For youth aging out of foster care, that safety net may simply not exist.

This week on Comfort Cases: UnPacked, Rob Scheer is joined by Eddie Sumlin and Kynya Cade of First Place for Youth, an organization helping transition-age foster youth build stable, independent lives through housing, education, employment, coaching, and long-term support.

Eddie brings nearly two decades of experience helping young people pursue education and career opportunities. Kynya brings something equally important: lived experience. A former foster youth and current college student, Kynya has spent nearly three years in First Place for Youth's transitional housing program and is now an intern with the organization.

Together, Rob, Eddie, and Kynya explore what “aging out” really looks like, why higher education can remain out of reach for so many foster youth, and the difference between expecting an 18-year-old to be independent and actually giving them the tools to succeed.

At the center of the conversation is an important reminder: young people leaving foster care don't need lower expectations. They need the same support, opportunity, and people in their corner that every young person deserves.

Eddie Sumlin has dedicated nearly 20 years to helping young people achieve educational and career success.

For the past eight years, he has worked with First Place for Youth, supporting former foster youth as they pursue higher education, employment, stable housing, and independent living.

Before joining First Place for Youth, Eddie spent nearly a decade working with a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation-supported college access initiative, helping students navigate the path to higher education.

Today, his work focuses on making sure young adults leaving foster care have the resources, relationships, and opportunities they need not simply to survive adulthood, but to thrive.

Kynya Cade is a 20-year-old former foster youth and student at Santa Monica College, where she is studying psychology.

She has participated in First Place for Youth's transitional housing program for nearly three years and recently joined the organization as an intern.

Kynya's journey offers a firsthand perspective on both the challenges young people can face when leaving foster care and what becomes possible when they have access to stable housing, education, meaningful relationships, and opportunity.

Website: First Place for Youth

Facebook: First Place for Youth

Instagram: @FirstPlaceforYouth

LinkedIn: First Place for Youth

Kynya Cade: LinkedIn

To find out more about Comfort Cases, please visit our website: www.comfortcases.org.

You can also follow us on our social media channels:

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter/X

TikTok

To listen to previous episodes of Comfort Cases: UnPacked, please visit www.comfortcases.org/podcast or your favorite podcast platform.

📩 Have thoughts, questions, or an idea for a future guest? Reach out at [email protected] — we'd love to hear from you!

Conversation HighlightsAbout Eddie SumlinAbout Kynya Cade
Connect with First Place for Youth

A new season. A new name. And a chance to unpack where we’ve been and where we’re going next.