SaySo Mission & Belief Statements

The Mission of SaySo is:

"to work to improve the substitute care system by educating the community, speaking out about needed changes, and providing support to youth who are or have been in substitute care."

All SaySo activities, whether at the state or local chapter levels, support this mission statement which was written in 1998, the year SaySo was founded.

The following Belief Statement was written in 1998 by Keisha, one of our founding members. Keisha compiled all the ideas of the founding members into this one statement. The SaySo Organization continues to uphold these beliefs today.

"We, strong able youth, believe in educating the community about needed changes in the foster care system. As strong able youth, we believe the voices of youth matter. So it is time to listen. We believe that if provided adequate materials we can achieve anything. As strong able youth, we uphold the idea that by expressing ourselves verbally, we are informing others of real life situations that may give a new meaning to life. We believe we have the right to be treated equally and fair and that our voices can make a big difference. We proclaim the love of children as being a primary factor for SaySo's continued existence. As youth, we believe we should have a right to better health care and easy access of monies for our needs. We hold the expectation that every board member is a unique individual, who can and will learn. Provided with a sufficient amount of time, effective teaching and a positive learning environment we will accomplish our goals."