After Hollis Riggins’ father died in 1999, his mother’s life spiraled into chaos.
“There were periods of sobriety, but I was in active addiction,” Della Montgomery-Riggins said. “Hollis took on the parental role for two younger brothers and his younger sister.”
Hollis spent a year and a half with a relative as all the children went into foster care. Healthy now, Montgomery-Riggins said she hasn’t used alcohol or drugs in 18 months. Hollis Riggins, now 18, is back home in Everett with his mother while the family regains stability.
More than ever, he’s a role model for his siblings, ages 9, 10 and 15.
“I’m so proud of him. He set a great example for them,” Montgomery-Riggins said.
The family was at Lombardi’s restaurant Monday for a dinner celebrating the achievements of 31 teens who have been in foster care. Hollis Riggins was among those honored for graduating from high school or earning a General Education Development certificate.
Riggins earned his GED and is attending the Gene Juarez Academy of Beauty in Seattle, learning the salon and cosmetology field.
“For us, this is what it’s all about. We appreciate all the hard work,” said Brandon Dutton, supervisor of the adolescent unit in the Everett office of the state Department of Social and Health Services’ Division of Children and Family Services.
The foster care graduation event was expanded this year to include DSHS children’s administration offices at Smokey Point, Mount Vernon and Sky Valley in Monroe, doubling the number of teens honored from last year’s 15.
It comes on the heels of a study released in April by Casey Family Programs, a Seattle-based foundation. Examining records of 659 young adults in Washington and Oregon who had spent time in foster care, the study found a third of them had incomes below the federal poverty level, a quarter had experienced homelessness and only 3 percent had earned bachelor’s degrees.
It doesn’t have to be that way. That’s the message Adam Cornell left with teens about to step out on their own.
A Snohomish County deputy prosecutor, Cornell, 32, was in foster homes beginning at age 5. His parents, he said, “were alcohol and drug addicts.” They relinquished him for adoption when he was 8. Adoption proved elusive.
“I was a kid who acted out – not a cute, cuddly infant,” Cornell said.
Finally adopted at 14, his hard luck continued when his adoptive father committed suicide as he was about to graduate from high school. He hung on to a lesson learned from a 65-year-old foster mother in Whatcom County. It saw him through Georgetown University and then law school.
“She taught me I didn’t have to be a victim,” Cornell said. “And you guys aren’t victims. You can do anything you want in your life.”
For 18-year-old Robert Chevara, that means college, with an eye on engineering. He’ll start at Everett Community College with plans to transfer to Seattle University. He’ll graduate next week from Monroe High School and has received a Governor’s Scholarship through a program to help youths in foster care.
Chevara didn’t share details of why he was in foster care – “too long a story,” he said. Foster parent Ken Babcock of Monroe said he’s proud of the young man’s “internal self-drive.”
“He’s a wrestler, he carried a full academic load and works at Big 5 Sporting Goods. He’s busy from 5 a.m. until 8 p.m. almost every day,” Babcock said.
Riggins and Chevara are representative of the other teens in their perseverance. Many can’t be identified for privacy reasons and because they aren’t yet 18.
Corrie Hayes, a Western Washington University intern with DSHS, read brief biographies of the graduates. Chad is graduating with a 3.7 grade point average and plans to teach physical education. Frank will be the first male in his family with a high school diploma. Laura hopes to work in a museum.
There were gift baskets from KidsDream, a nonprofit group that helps foster children. Carrie Lonergan of Lombardi’s sponsored the event, along with other community groups and businesses.
Cornell said sharing his journey with other veterans of foster care is “the most important thing I do in my life.”
“I want you all to promise,” Cornell told his audience. “Promise you’ll come back and talk to young people.”
Columnist Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460 or muhlsteinjulie@heraldnet.com.
Contributed photo
Hollis Riggins and his mother, Della Montgomery-Riggins, attend a celebratory dinner.
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