HEY Celebrates 10 Years of Advocacy

Penny Wise But Pound Foolish

One of the casualties of the fiscal crisis facing the state of California may be the cuts to programs that benefit or are related to the foster care system. A recent article in the Contra Costa times argues that these cuts may be short-sighted. The article focuses on the fact that the Transitional Housing Placement Plus (THP-Plus) program, which provides transitional housing and life-skills training for youths transitioning out of foster care, may be cut for the second year in a row.

Last year when similar cuts were pushed through, the consequences were grim:

Last May, $80 million in cuts resulted in 400 social workers being laid off, the elimination of stipends for transitioning youths, reduced the number of foster youths able to attend college and forced 1,400 THP-Plus participants and 200 of their children onto the streets.

Moreover, 65 percent of 18-year-olds coming out of California’s foster care system are homeless within a year and this shameful statistic could get much worse very soon.

For youth transitioning out of Foster Care at age 18, the THP-Plus funding is a crucial factor in determing their future success. United Way Partner First Place for Youth, located in Oakland receives such funding and has been hailed as a success story and is rapidly expanding throughout the Bay Area and into Los Angeles. The program assists foster youth through the transition into adulthood and helps these young adults transition into stable housing, and a remarkable 70% of their youths attend college.

Read the full article here on the Honoring Emancipated Youth website.

(photo via flickr user seeveeaar)

HEY Celebrates 10 Years of Advocacy

The future looks brighter for the hundreds of Bay Area foster youth who age-out of the system every year: The “HEY Guide: Housing” is now available to help them find safe, affordable housing in the Bay Area, as they make the difficult transition to independence. The Guide is also a resource for other “disconnected” youth, who lack traditional family supports as they transition to adulthood.

The Guide was researched and written by three youth who have experience in the foster care and homeless systems. It was released today, during the first week of National Foster Care Month, by Honoring Emancipated Youth (HEY), which is celebrating its 10th anniversary as an advocate for Bay Area emancipated and foster youth.

“Within 18 months of leaving the foster care system, nearly half of emancipated youth are homeless because they lack the resources and support to find safe, affordable places to live,” said Sara Razavi, executive director of HEY, a community project of United Way of the Bay Area

Former homeless youth Valarie Cizek and emancipated foster youth Dylan Ruggles created the guide with assistance from young, local designer Graham Misenheimer. Ruggles, a Mills College student who served on HEY’s Emancipated Youth Advocacy Board in 2006, came up with the idea for the guide after experiencing difficulties finding housing when he emancipated from foster care in 2004. Cizek experienced homelessness as a teenager and wanted to help others by contributing to the Guide.

The free guide can be downloaded at www.heysf.org. It includes practical advice about searching for, keeping and paying for various types of housing, as well as sample rental applications and leases, and interactive games to help youth evaluate a housing option’s suitability.
The “HEY Guide: Housing” is the first in a series of guides that HEY plans to produce. Future guides will focus on other issues relevant to youth who age out of care and other disconnected, transitional-age youth in the Bay Area.

For more information on Honoring Emancipated Youth, please visit the website at www.heysf.org