Meet Thomas (he/him/his), a 19-year-old coastal North Carolina native who is now crushing his goals thanks to the LifeSet program.

This program aimed at aiding young adults transitioning into adulthood helps young people like Thomas meet their goals. Specialists spend at least one day a week with a young adult to help build the bridge into successful adulthood.

Thomas is an assertive young adult, who can vocalize his needs, but his courage was learned after spending time in the program with his specialist. His path to confidence was not linear. Thomas, who was born female, struggled mentally as he navigated gender expression and how to exemplify his identity.

As he began to express his gender, he fell down a rabbit hole of social media content around trans topics that led him into self-isolation and depression. After trying to navigate his feelings, Thomas felt the pressure of identifying as a trans-male. During his early teenage years, he struggled to complete daily routines, like taking showers, and was isolating himself from others and staying in bed all day. Thomas also dealt with the impact of Covid around the same time, which led to further isolation.

Thomas navigates his emotions

These behaviors caused strain with his mom and brothers to the point where he felt like a stranger in his household.

“I knew I self-isolated myself to the point where it was like, I don’t know you,” Thomas said. “I know that you’re my family, but I don’t recognize you guys.”

Thomas experienced struggles at home early on in life, including witnessing and experiencing abuse in the home. This trauma led him to grow up a lot faster. He held some resentment toward his mom, which led to arguments throughout their relationship.

Thomas had a friend who was in LifeSet and raved about the program. He reached out to Youth Villages because knew he needed support with his mental health and navigating his transition to adulthood.

At first, Thomas was hesitant about receiving help from people he didn’t know.

Thomas focuses on the future

Thomas’ relationships took a hit while trying to navigate his emotions. He put in the work with his LifeSet specialist, Marianna, who encouraged and supported him in affirming his identity. He also got support from his partner and his partners’ family. Thomas says having a person and their family affirm who he is means the world to him.

“I genuinely don’t think I’d be where I am today without the support of my partner and his family,” he said.

Thomas continues to mend the relationship with his own family and has found support from them as he continues the journey of affirming his identity.

With the help of LifeSet, Thomas secured his driving permit and is saving up for his first car. Thomas also will begin cosmetology school in spring 2025 at Brunswick Community College. His primary goal is to one day provide gender-affirming hair styling to those who may need it.

Thomas now understands the importance of community and support. LifeSet is designed to meet the needs of young adults so they will have the tools to be positive members of their community.

“Even if you think you’ve got life on lock, it never hurts to have that extra support, and that’s what Youth Villages is for me,” Thomas said. “There’s always an area of life you may not be ready for, and Youth Villages helped me navigate the unthinkable.”

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