Young people aging out of foster care need your help this summer

Supporting Foster Success’ Basic Needs program ensures they don’t have to worry about tomorrow

By DR. MAGGIE STEVENS
Guest Column

Young people aging out of foster care face countless barriers in their lives often preventing them from meeting their basic needs. Summer can be a vulnerable and lonely time as they may not be in school or a job training program, and they may need extra support.

Right now, there are young people aging out of foster care in Indiana who don’t have reliable transportation to get to work, are dealing with food insecurity or may be facing eviction due to a lack of resources and adult support.

Thankfully, these young people can rely on Foster Success for support. For the last two years, we’ve worked to meet our young adults’ basic needs through a program that helps them access the resources they need to become self-sufficient.

Foster Success’s Basic Needs program helps solve their immediate needs by, diving into the underlying causes of their emergency and provides support and connection to resources to increase personal and financial stability.

The three pillars of our Basic Needs program are Solve, Support, and Sustain.

Solve

First, a Foster Success team member will work to solve the immediate emergency that needs attention. This could be eviction, homelessness, lack of childcare, transportation challenges, and much more. If available, Foster Success will provide funds to support a young person to alleviate their current emergency.

Support

Then, a Foster Success team member will dive deeper into the cause of the emergency. For example, is the young person late on rent due to low wages, an inability to work due to lack of childcare, or other unforeseen circumstances? By taking the time to work with young people to solve the bigger issues, Foster Success can direct them to the appropriate resources.

Sustain

Lastly, a Foster Success team member will guide the young person in accessing education programs to earn a degree or credential, enrolling in workforce programs to upskill or find better-paying jobs, or engaging with financial empowerment programs to learn how to manage finances and get access to financial guidance and resources.

* * *

Rosie Ferguson-Walton is one of the young adults who has received support through the Foster Success Basic Needs program. Two years ago, when she was just 21 years old, the northwest Indiana student received funds through our Basic Needs program to pay for groceries and her cell phone bill. The emergency help was invaluable, she said.

“It took a lot of pressure and stress off my chest because I knew I wasn’t doing it alone and I knew I had all the help I needed,” Ferguson-Walton said.

Sometimes a little help is all someone needs to continue on their journey to success. However, we cannot ensure that our Basic Needs program can meet the needs of young adults aging out of foster care without support from our community. Especially right now, during the summer, these young adults, like Rosie, need you. Please consider making a tax-deductible financial donation today or becoming one of our volunteers around the state.

Dr. Maggie Stevens is the President & CEO of Foster Success, an Indiana-based nonprofit that prioritizes the voices of older foster care youth at a most critical time – when they are about to or have already transitioned out of the foster care system, most often with no family or economic support. Foster Success’ approach supports the whole person through five impact areas: Educational Success, Financial Empowerment, Workforce Readiness, Health and Well-Being, and Youth Engagement. Each year in Indiana, about 500 young people age out of the foster care system and into our communities.

More information about Foster Success can be found at fostersuccess.org.