InnerViews

What does lasting support look like after foster care ends? Ivory Bennett speaks with Christina Young-Van Osten, a child welfare professional and consultant who aged out of New York’s foster care system, about connection, mental health, and genuine decision-making power. Christina reflects on navigating adulthood, finding family beyond care, and turning lived experience into leadership. Together, they explore why achievement does not erase the need for support—and why preparing young people for adulthood requires choice, practical guidance, and relationships that last.

What does it take to help raise a child when you’re not their parent? Ivory sits down with her sister Ebony Turner to talk about becoming Jayden’s mother and aunt, the joys and exhaustion of caregiving, and the gap between having a village and having people who show up. 

Guest Bio:
Ebony Turner is an insurance underwriting professional with eight years of experience. She volunteers with young people who have experienced foster care and takes part in community work. A former foster youth, Ebony is Ivory Bennett’s younger sister and Jayden’s aunt. In this episode, she brings the perspective of a family member who helps care for Jayden while building a life of her own.

Billie has experienced child welfare from multiple perspectives: as a child in foster care and group placements, and later as a parent. In this deeply personal conversation, she joins InnerViews host Ivory Bennett to discuss grief, being unheard in care, motherhood, addiction and recovery, family separation, advocacy, and what children and families truly need from the systems designed to support them. Billie also reflects on why she now feels ready to tell her story—and why lived experience can help reshape child welfare for the next generation.

Content Note: This episode includes discussion of childhood abuse and neglect, sexual assault, suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts, addiction and recovery, family separation, child removal, racism, grief, and difficult experiences within foster care and the child welfare system.

What happens after you “age out” of foster care? Host Ivory Bennett sits down with Leigh-Anna Faith, a former foster youth, law student, and advocate, for a candid conversation about navigating adulthood without a traditional safety net. From education and housing instability to mental health, advocacy, and finding community, Leigh-Anna reflects on turning lived experience into a commitment to justice. Together, they explore what young people leaving care truly need—not simply to survive, but to build lives where they can thrive. 

In this deeply personal episode of InnerViews, host Ivory Bennett welcomes back Dr. Alison Davis for an honest conversation about single motherhood, parenting children who have experienced trauma, and the village so many families are searching for. Together, they explore matrescence, caregiver well-being, emotional safety, and the realities of raising children while navigating healing of your own. Through vulnerability, reflection, and practical insight, this episode reminds us that supporting children begins with supporting the people raising them—and that rebuilding community is essential to breaking intergenerational cycles of trauma.

In this powerful episode of InnerViews, Ivory Bennett sits down with author, musician, and creative visionary Qpidluv for a deeply honest conversation about foster care, masculinity, identity, and healing through storytelling. From entering foster care as an infant to creating The Safe Home Chronicles and the Forever Home Project, Qpidluv reflects on survival, imagination, and the search for belonging. Together, Ivory and Qpidluv explore what home really means—and how creativity can become both refuge and reclamation.

In this episode of InnerViews, Ivory Bennett sits down with Nesta N. Johnson to explore what it means to reach an “It Gets Better” era after surviving systems and trauma. Together, they unpack the slow, nonlinear journey toward healing, the power of storytelling as both release and responsibility, and what it means to hold hope for the next generation. This conversation is honest, grounding, and deeply affirming for anyone navigating life after survival.

Guest Bio:

Nesta N. Johnson is a lived expert and storyteller whose work centers on healing, reflection, and the power of narrative. With a deep commitment to honesty and growth, Nesta uses their voice to explore the complexities of surviving systems, processing trauma, and stepping into a new chapter where hope and possibility begin to take root. Their perspective offers both grounding and inspiration for individuals navigating their own journeys toward healing.

In this episode of InnerViews, Ivory speaks with Tishon Sudlow and Sarah Robinson about youth voice, credible messengers, and community-led change in Brooklyn. Through artivism and coalition-building, they explore how young people transform lived experience into advocacy, healing, and action. This conversation highlights the power of storytelling as both resistance and restoration.

InnerViews is trying something new. In this special episode, we bring you the audio from Youth Voices Rising’s powerful webinar, Love Shouldn’t Hurt. Panelists with lived child welfare experience reflect on how trauma, housing instability, and system involvement can shape beliefs about love and safety. This honest conversation explores survival-based relationships, healing, and what it takes to build emotionally safe connections. Listener discretion advised.

In this restorative Season 3 premiere, host Ivory Bennett reunites with Dr. Alison Davis for a soulful conversation on renewal, emotional safety, and intentional becoming. Together, they reflect on the lessons of the past season, explore what no longer serves them, and name what deserves to be carried forward. This episode invites listeners to pause, breathe, and consider how healing, boundaries, and self-compassion can shape the life they’re building next.