From Foster Care to Independent Living: "How the transition should really work!"

Our future young people in foster care are at risk of homelessness when transitioning out. This risk is at an all-time high, they should and can be afforded the same opportunities as those young people living permanent households. When not given their chance of homelessness increases dramatically. Now, there is a way to prevent this? I know some of you are scratching your heads, and thinking HOW? How can we do this? While others are silently wondering WHY? Why should we do this? We should and must because this is our future and when we invest in our future be profit from that investment. 

So, come with me and let us look and the how’s, the why’s, as well as the who’s and what’s. As a community must become engaged, we must and need to be proactive, and yes, we need to be accepting. Young people need to be safe and the evaluation of their safety should be developmentally suitable and free from variables that exaggerate their risk and undervalue any social experience they may have had. Young people need to learn how to be economically sound and have opportunities to practice their financial skills as they manage their assets, A part of this is for them to participate in the workforce and be able to conduct business with mainstream financial institutes. We as a community must begin to understand and recognize that family is critically important in the lives of these young people, and their definition of family and network of supportive relationships are theirs, and should be explored, respected and appropriately included into their life planning efforts. Young People when engaged in all these areas can transitions smoothly from foster care to permanent housing. Yes, it is a holistic approach. But it is a necessary plan in which we cannot be deviated from.

How can this approach be implemented? Boy, this indeed is a good question. Well, know this, it is going to take all of us. Everyone! The entire village so to speak. First, we must assist our young people (Notice I say our, because they are Ours) in getting access to the services they need. These services must be all-inclusive, flexible, and capable of meeting the young person’s needs as they begin their transition. Second, we must know what their available support systems are. Once we found this out, we then make them a part of the process. As the process begins, we included both formal and informal support. The formal support comes from the resources and services of the public and private sectors-Tap into those resources use them for the purposes they were meant for. The informal support comes from within that young person’s network of community relationships. Don’t be afraid to communicate the to this community network the needs of these young people. Then, finally, develop a youth/adult partnership. A partnership built on trust and honesty, be truthful, be realistic and be their partner in transition to this independent life. While these actions may take some time, remember this is an investment in a young person life, an investment in the community as well as our nation as a hold.

Let Us Promote Change Through Empowerment.