 Handouts in the form of checks made me feel more like a charity case, but having a community of people believing in me enough to empower me, give me purposeful jobs, and mentor me to gain the skills needed to live a prosperous life is what has helped me break generational cycles of poverty, abuse, neglect, homelessness, and so on. Over the past couple of years, my husband and I have mentored a handful of former foster youth by volunteering for a local nonprofit. We witness them live off of free housing and stipends given to them while not maintaining work.