When you imagine the foster care system, you might picture a progression where a young person lives with resource parents until their 18th birthday, at which time they strike out on their own and begin to build a life as an independent adult. That’s a nice vision, but sadly, it is often far from reality. In the real world, it’s hard to build a life at 18 years old, and many young people who age out of the foster system wind up either homeless or in jail. To help cut down on the frequency of this outcome, the Transitional Housing Placement Program in Sacramento County offers the opportunity for young people leaving the foster system to secure a place to live while they consider their next steps in life.

An Obvious Challenge

If you stop to think about it for a moment, it’s easy to understand why so many former foster youth would wind up homeless. After all, it’s extremely difficult to make ends meet right out of high school, paying for things like rent, transportation, food, and much more. The Transitional Housing Placement Program in Sacramento County takes the biggest of those obstacles – rent – and moves it out of the way. There is still plenty of work to be done, of course, but knowing that they will have a place to live is a big help for young people who have recently left foster care and have little to rely on otherwise.

Don’t Let the Cycle Get Started

It’s notoriously difficult to break the cycle of homelessness once it starts. Cutting it off at the start by keeping former foster youth off the streets from the start is the best possible option. Using the Transitional Housing Placement Program in Sacramento County is a great opportunity for young people in this position to get their life going in the right direction.

If you are eligible for the transitional housing program and interested in learning more, apply now. If you want to become a mentor for the young adults in the THP program, contact Children First Foster Family Agency.

Children First FFA is a private, non-profit organization in Northern California that is dedicated to helping change lives by providing a safe place for children to heal in a culture of love, acceptance, and consistency.