Dontae Lartigue is a native of the Peninsula who spent his first years in East Palo Alto and grew up in San José’s Seven Trees neighborhood (Destination: Home, n.d.; Giving List, 2022). He and his three siblings were raised primarily by their grandmother, who died of cancer when he was eight. After that, the siblings were often separated, living sometimes with relatives and sometimes in foster care (Jackson, 2026).

He grew up in shelters, group homes, and foster placements. When his foster father died while Dontae was a teenager, he moved into an independent living program in downtown San José. There, a case manager invited him to join Santa Clara County’s Joint Foster Youth Task Force, and Dontae began advocating for the system he had grown up in. As a state youth ambassador, he advocated for Assembly Bill 12, which created California’s Extended Foster Care program so eligible young people can stay in care until age 21 (Jackson, 2026).

He earned an associate degree in Liberal Arts, with an emphasis in Social and Behavioral Sciences, at De Anza College (UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, 2023), then transferred to San José State University, where he took part in the Educational Opportunity Program, the Guardian Scholars program for former foster youth, and Brother to Brother. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology in 2018, and founded Razing the Bar while still a student (Jackson, 2026).

To open the first home, Dontae and his wife put their own scholarship money toward securing a house and buying its furniture (Magnify Community, n.d.).