SUCCESS STORIES

Darnisha Prince

Darnisha Prince is a writer and a poet. Darnisha does not know exactly why she started writing, but she says it was around the age of ten. "I remember I was having a problem with my grandmother and I was so upset I didn't know what to do, so I just picked up a pen and started writing." Darnisha did not really share her poems with others until about eight months ago when she joined the Youth Task Force at Legal Services for Children.

As a Youth Advocate, Darnisha and other young people go into schools around the city to share their own writings and thoughts as a way to educate and inspire others. As Darnisha points out, "If you want to change the system, then it's not just what adults say. Since it's really about us, we need to get in our opinions too."

Darnisha has been in the foster care system almost since birth. She describes her life as "hard," but also as a "blessing" which only shows how strong she is. As a young girl Darnisha lost her grandmother and then her father shortly afterwards. She has never lived with her mother.

Darnisha now lives in a group home. She is going to graduate from high school this coming June, then attend City College for two years and transfer to USF, where she wants to major in Political Science. Darnisha plans to be a lawyer one day.

Earlier this year, Darnisha and other members of the Youth Task Force were invited to participate in the National System of Care conference in Texas. Although Arnisha's fees and travel costs were covered by conference organizers, City Youth Now was proud to provide her with the spending money she needed to cover additional expenses. Arnisha's group has been awarded a National Ecko Award for their CD of poetry and writings. She has also started working on her first book—hopefully, the first of many.

Back to Success Stories