Jamole Callahan spent six years in foster care living in nine different homes until he was emancipated at age 18. His road into foster care was paved with being the product of an affair, his father’s subsequent abandonment, then his mother’s drug addiction that left him to care for his baby sister at the age of 11. Although he had doting and attentive grandparents the state of Ohio still decided to put Jamole in foster care, while his sister went to live with her father, and his brother ran away and eventually went in to the prison system. He moved from home to home for six years due to abusive situations or the illness or death of his caretakers. Finally, he reached a home that changed his life and attitude, propelling him into building a success. The influence of his foster father planted the seed of Mr. Motivator by the mantra “Recognize no such word as impossible” (Napoleon Hill). He completed his college education, started a family, and saw the opportunity bring foster youth and others to a mindset of possibility.
At 15 years old he saw a major flaw in the system which was a lack of self-advocacy. When people were making decisions on a foster youth’s life, the youth was not a part of the meeting. Mr. Motivator knew that he had to use his most powerful tools to build up those who are affected the most to make changes : his experience and his voice. After creating his own stability, in 2009 a vision for success and change was birthed for empowering foster parents, caseworkers, and foster care youth and alumni through speaking, educating, and advocacy on a local and national level.
He began by speaking to small groups in his home state of Ohio which transformed into training sessions through the Ohio Child Welfare Training Program and motivational speaking by 2012. From there his vision for change grew and took him to the steps of Ohio, New Jersery, and Federal legislators to shape policy to better serve alumni and youth who are currently in care. Some of the successful legislative initiatives include mandating normalcy for foster youth at both the state and federal levels, extending foster care to age 21 in Ohio, and the U.S. Fostering Stable Housing Opportunities Act and has been recognized for his work by the Ohio and New Jersey Legislatures.
Mr. Motivator’s voice has been heard across the United States and in the United Kingdom through training sessions, conferences, and motivational speeches to encourage people to level up their expectations, dreams, and actions to become who they are meant to be. He has branched into speaking on the radio, through his podcast, Mornings with Mr. Motivator, and providing inspiration through his blog Level Up.
Jamole ‘Mr. Motivator’ Callahan is not an exception to the foster care story, he is part of the new foster care story that is a journey to many successes and new levels.
