Meet Our Partner: Diana Fong, Yolo County Probation Department

Diana Fong has seen her fair share of teens leaving group homes or foster care with nothing buta garbage bag of belongings to call their own. As a placement officer with the Yolo County Probation Department, Diana works with Make It Happen to make sure local transition age youth get what they need to fully furnish their first apartments.

“The kids are always shocked they get to keep the items they receive from Make It Happen,”she said. “They always come back at me with ‘It’s all mine?!’ and I say ‘Yes, it’s all yours.’ They can’t believe it. They no longer have just a bag – they have an apartment filled with things.”Diana said most teens she works with have not learned how to live on their own, so she help them figure out what they might need and helps them unbox the items to set up their homes.She appreciates Make It Happen’s willingness to provide needed items, no matter how unexpected.

Diana said. “Make It Happen is generous and accommodating, and they really go out of their way to help these kids who do not have as many resources.”

She recently worked with Make It Happen to help two brothers move into their own apartments. She called the day before, and when she and the boys arrived, everything was there and ready to be loaded into the truck. Now the brothers can live five miles from each other after being kept apart for a good portion of their lives.

Diana has worked in various law enforcement positions throughout her career, including working in juvenile hall as a detention officer and a communication dispatcher/911 operator inthe Bay Area. Eight years ago, after a difficult event in her life, she was hired at the Yolo County

Probation Department to work with youth who are on probation and removed from their home and placed into foster care.“You have these kids running the streets who have experienced a lot of trauma and dysfunction,” she said. “Many times, I’m the only consistent person in their lives. They always say I’m paid to be with them, but I’m not paid to do everything that I do for them.”

Diana says there is a minimal success rate in the job, however some of her past clients keep in touch with her. “Once in a while, I’ll get a call checking in,” she said. “They’re doing well. They’re not calling from jail, just checking in. In fact, I called one kid who was in Monterey during the storms in January so I could make sure he wasn’t floating away somewhere. It turns out he is doing well and has a job and bought a car. You go through a lot with these kids, and they don’t always realize it until they leave the program.”

On any given day, Diana is visiting her clients in group homes or extended foster care across Placer and Sacramento counties, or she is fielding their texts and phone calls. She tries to help them solve problems but encourages them to do things on their own. “I always tell them, take it as far as you can and then I’ll see what I can do,” Diana said. “So often in group homes, things are already done for them, so they are never going to learn how to do things unless I have them do it on their own. I make them do the legwork and it shows them that they can do it.”

But she also understands the limitations they face, especially with technology.“It’s too hard to fill out a tax form or a college application on a phone, so I either bring them to my office to use a computer or bring my laptop to them,” she said. “I’ll sit next to them while they type so I can help with any questions they have.”

When they are ready to move out on their own, Diana is there to guide them, teaching them how to manage money, adhere to apartment complex rules and other basics of living on their own, such as locating their mailbox and obtaining their California Identification Card. At the end of the day, she knows they are living in safe and comfortable homes they can make their own,thanks to Make It Happen.

“Without Make It Happen, we would just be scrambling around trying to get a small gift card that wasn’t enough,” Diana said. “Make It Happen gives them the ability to create their home and say this is my place and my stuff.”