Youth who age out of foster care often face significant challenges when transitioning to adulthood. They can be at risk for homelessness, unemployment, unstable housing, involvement with the criminal justice system, mental health issues and difficulty accessing education or stable employment. This is all due to a lack of support networks and life skills needed to navigate adulthood independently.

This is what James encountered after spending years in foster care. His time in foster care began when he was just 7 years old. Over the next five years, he bounced around to different foster homes. Then, starting at age 12, he was in and out of residential centers until he turned 18. At this time, he was moved to a pre-independent living program to help him transition from adolescence to adulthood.

However, James found it difficult living with strangers. He was also coming home after curfew and had a miscommunication with staff around his needs, causing James to leave the pre-independent living program. He went from having a roof over his head to struggling to find a new place to live.

James eventually moved into a home with anywhere from six to eight roommates at a time. He paid for just his bedroom and had no access to a kitchen. For the first month, James had only a hot plate for cooking food. Eventually, he got a microwave, so he could cook all of his meals. He cleaned his dishes in the bathroom sink.

“I went from having a kitchen to not having a place to cook,” James said. “It was years of chicken nuggets and Takis.”

James knew he needed help, and he wasn’t going to be able to accomplish his goals on his own. In March of 2024, he was fired from his job for missing work when he got sick with COVID-19. It was then that James’ case worker referred him to Youth Villages’ LifeSet program to help bridge the gap to adulthood.

James was assigned a LifeSet specialist, Anjelica Mazariegos. But having grown up in environments where he felt like he couldn’t trust the people around him, James was nervous about meeting Anjelica for the first time.

James officially joined LifeSet in May of 2024, and he and Anjelica immediately began working together to accomplish his goals, including studying for his permit test, taking care of his eyesight by getting glasses and contacts, and searching for a better living situation.

James knew the first step toward accomplishing his goals was to find a stable job. On his own, James reached out to his extended family members who are ironworkers. Through those connections, he started an apprenticeship program with an ironworks company.

“I love it… It’s very physical and a lot of moving,” James said. “It’s exhausting because I have a harness with heavy tools, but I want to get big and bulky, like The Hulk.”

After ironworking for a few months, James moved out of his one bedroom living space and into a house with his cousin and friends. The house had a larger living area and a kitchen with an oven and stovetop. Access to the kitchen improved James’ overall well-being.

“I really missed making toast, and sometimes you just really want toast,” James said. “Now, I have access to a toaster and can have toast.”

Now comfortable in the kitchen, James spends his free time experimenting with food and trying new dishes.

“I started with stuff I know I like,” James said. “My favorite things to cook are meatloaf and jerk chicken. I know those recipes by heart.”

Through his apprenticeship, James started school. He is taking classes that introduce him to the different specialties in ironworking and help him understand the history of the profession. His classes are at night, in addition to his 40-hour work week.

As James looks to the future, he is hopeful he can continue working on achieving more of the goals he set with Anjelica, including finding a primary care physician, creating a budget and saving up for a car.

“Without parents it’s hard to figure things out; I knew I couldn’t do everything on my own,” James said. “People have always let me down and been a disappointment to me, but not Anjelica.”

For more information on LifeSet, go to youthvillages.org/lifeset.

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