Angie’s story shows how Good Dirt Collective’s Mud Girls program supports young women aging out of foster care through grace-based employment, mentorship, and accountability.

The Challenge for Young Women Aging Out of Foster Care

For many young women coming out of the foster care system, the workplace can feel overwhelming. There is often no safety net, no one who modeled how to show up to a job interview, navigate conflict with a supervisor, or juggle transportation, finances, and responsibility all at once. The expectations are real, but the support is often missing.

Angie is one of those young women. After aging out of foster care, she found employment through Good Dirt Collective’s Mud Girls program.

Learning Responsibility in the Mud Girls Program

Like many others, showing up consistently did not come easily at first. Being on time was a struggle in Angie’s early days at Good Dirt Collective. 

One day, Angie approached Kasey Jackson, Good Dirt Collective’s Chief Operating Officer, and asked for more hours. Kasey looked at her with kindness and honesty and told her that more hours would come with more responsibility. Angie would need to show her commitment to the job first. 

Something shifted after that conversation. 

Angie began showing up on time. She took her work seriously and started demonstrating that she wanted to be there. Her commitment became visible, not just in her attendance, but in the way she carried herself. She was doing what had been asked of her, and she was doing it with intention.

Walking Miles to Show Up

One morning, Kasey received a text from Angie saying she was going to be late but was on her way. A few minutes later, another message followed. Angie was still on her way. Kasey felt a wave of disappointment. Consistency mattered, and this felt like a step backward.

However, when Angie finally arrived red-faced, Kasey realized what had happened. Angie had no transportation that day, so she walked miles to get to work. As she walked, she thought about the other Mud Girls and how she did not want to let them down by not showing up. She passed familiar places along the way, crossing streets and continuing forward even as her legs grew tired. With every step, she thought about what this job meant. The bills she needed to pay. The rent that was coming due. Her sweet kitty, who would need food later that week.

She chose to keep going, and she chose to show up.

What Grace-Based Employment Looks Like

At Good Dirt Collective, the Mud Girls work under a point system where points are deducted when someone is late. That day, Angie did not lose any points. Not because expectations were lowered, but because grace-based employment means understanding the full story.

Grace-based employment is about offering jobs with compassion, especially for those who have faced foster care, trauma, or unstable housing. Many of the Mud Girls have never had anyone walk them through how to open a bank account, prepare for a job interview, or navigate hard conversations at work.

At Good Dirt Collective, the expectation is still to show up, work hard, and grow, but no one is expected to do it alone. As Timery, Good Dirt Collective’s Mud Girls Program Manager, explains:

“Sometimes your trauma follows you around. Sometimes you’re late. Sometimes you get really angry for no reason. Grace-based employment is just showing these young women that there are people who show up and actually love them enough to say, ‘This isn’t okay, but we are going to love you through it and show you that there is a different way.’”

Grace and Accountability in the Mud Girls Program

Angie’s story is what grace-based employment looks like in real life. She was held to a standard, and she rose to it. When circumstances beyond her control made the journey harder, she was met with understanding instead of punishment. Her grit, her commitment, and her willingness to walk miles through the mist to get to work show what happens when grace and accountability exist side by side.

Learn More About the Mud Girls Program

The Mud Girls program at Good Dirt Collective provides employment, mentorship, and life skills support for young women aging out of foster care.Learn more about the Mud Girls program here: