Comfort Cases: Unpacked Podcast | Episode 2 | Eddie Sumlin and Kynya Cade of First Place for Youth

What happens when a young person turns 18 and the system 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 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 educational and career opportunities. Kynya brings an equally important perspective: 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 remains out of reach for so many foster youth, and the difference between expecting an 18-year-old to be independent and giving them the tools to succeed.

At the center of the conversation is an important reminder: Young people leaving foster care do not need lower expectations. They need the same support, opportunities, and people in their corner that every young person deserves.

CONVERSATION HIGHLIGHTS

What “aging out” of foster care actually means
The difference between turning 18 and being prepared for adulthood
Why college can remain out of reach for foster youth, even when they have the ability and ambition to succeed
How housing instability can affect education, employment, and long-term independence
Why First Place for Youth combines housing, education, employment, and individualized coaching
What Kynya experienced while transitioning from foster care into adulthood
How stable support helped Kynya pursue college and begin helping other young people
Why one consistent, caring adult can have an enormous impact on a young person’s future
How communities, employers, mentors, donors, and advocates can support youth leaving foster care

ABOUT EDDIE SUMLIN

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 college-access initiative supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, helping students navigate the path to higher education. Today, his work focuses on ensuring that young adults leaving foster care have the resources, relationships, and opportunities they need not simply to survive adulthood, but to thrive.

ABOUT KYNYA CADE

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 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.

CONNECT WITH FIRST PLACE FOR YOUTH

Website: https://firstplaceforyouth.org/

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To listen to previous episodes of Fostering Change and Comfort Cases: Unpacked, please visit: www.comfortcases.org/podcast or your favorite podcast outlets.

📩 Have thoughts or questions, or an idea for a future guest? Reach out at fosteringchange@comfortcases.org – we’d love to hear from you! From all of us at Comfort Cases: Unpacked, thank you for listening, for sharing this journey with us through seven incredible seasons, and for believing that every child deserves dignity, belonging, and hope.