Advocate for teens aged out of foster care remembered for positive impact after homicide

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - Alexis Smith, an advocate for those going through the foster care system, was remembered at her celebration of life, on Monday.

She was killed on March 4, according to Cleveland Police.

Her boyfriend, Rufus Hill, said she navigated the challenges of growing up in the foster care system and used her experience to make a positive impact in other lives.

“She actually wanted to help the world, specifically aged out foster care youth,” Hill said. “That was her everything.”

She shared her story on her podcast, ‘Talk It Out,’ and advocated for young adults aging out of the foster care system.

“You grow up in foster care and you don’t really have suitable parents to really guide you through life,” Hill said.

Smith was killed two days before her 31st birthday.

Investigators said Smith was shot following an altercation with a 33-year-old woman in a parking lot.

Police said it happened on 11100 block of Fidelity Avenue on the city’s westside.

Hill said Smith lived in an apartment on that street for several years.

“I ended up getting a call that she had been shot. I called my friend, he took me to the hospital and while at the hospital we got the news that she had passed,” Hill said. “It broke me in half.”

He hopes her work will inspire others to help those going through the foster care system.

“We need people to get involved. We need people to become adoptive parents, foster parents, even if you just went and tried to work in the system,” Hill said. “We need people that actually care to get involved.”

Police have arrested that 33-year-old woman.

Charges are still pending.

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