LOS ANGELES — Roughly 60,000 children are in California’s foster care system and many go on to become homeless. As our community faces a housing crisis — and multiple states of emergency over homelessness —mental health is one part of the solution.

Keith Brandon, 24, is formerly homeless and the survivor of a suicide attempt. Today he is on the cover of a magazine pursuing a career in modeling. He’s proud and even though his mother is no longer around, he thinks she’d feel the same.

“I think she would be very proud of me, honestly. I think she would and you know some days I dream about her and I wake up because the dream feels so real,” Brandon said.

Brandon went into the foster care system after his mother died. When these kids turn 18, they’re mostly on their own. While living in a shelter, he found the nonprofit Sycamores and its Transition Age Youth program, a safety net for young adults (especially former foster youth), trying to become independent.

Now, Brandon has a caseworker, a therapist, an apartment and a second chance.

“A lot of times, actually, I tried to take my own life, and it never worked. I thank God it didn’t work because I’m here. I’m here and I’ve been able to help other friends and people who I do not know how I overcome this,” Brandon said.

Unfortunately, many in Brandon’s shoes hit rock bottom and stay there. Sycamores Chief Business Development Officer Samuel Gonzalez has seen it happen and said this is why youth make up a fast-growing segment of the homeless population. To change this, you must address mental health.

“I started here as a therapist working with this population and to this day that is my specialty as a therapist, you know, is this age group, so it just taught me that really if you focus on our youth it pays off down the road,” Gonzalez said.

Brandon lives in Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo’s district. Even during this — her first legislative session — she’s prioritizing the next generation with Assembly Bill 963. This bill is meant to support investment in housing for kids leaving the foster care system.

“One of the reasons that I have housing security is because of the support of my parents and these kids don’t have that,” Schiavo said.

She got the idea because people like Brandon are not afraid to share their stories.

“I don’t have a problem with saying where I’ve been because it’s not about where I’ve been. It’s about where I’m going,” Brandon said.

Another pertinent piece of legislation: Senate Bill 307, which would ensure those who were part of the foster care system in California would be able to go to college debt-free at certain institutions.