Unlike their peers, many young people who have foster care often lack basic financial literacy skills. While some of these skills are taught in school or other programs, many former foster youth missed out on learning skills such as budgeting, opening bank accounts or filing taxes. Youth Villages’ financial literacy program empowers young adults to make confident decisions and build stability.

For Nicky, it inspired her to jump start her business into a full-time career. But like many young people who aged out of state custody, the climb to adulthood has been challenging.

Nicky entered foster care at 3 years old, alongside her brother. After a few years of separation, they found a home together and were adopted when Nicky was 6. But by age 15, that adoption was disrupted, and she re-entered the foster care system alone. The years that followed weren’t easy. “My foster care experience was challenging,” she said.

She first learned about Youth Villages through a peer participating in the Independent Living Program (ILP), where young people receive support through their transition into adulthood. While she connected briefly with the program as a teenager, the COVID-19 pandemic caused delays. It wasn’t until she turned 18 that Nicky truly began receiving services. Since then, she’s worked with several specialists — each playing a role in her growth — and is now with Noah Gerber, who is her current ILP specialist.

Together, Nicky and Noah have focused on building the skills and confidence she needs to live independently, with filling her toolbox with resources to navigate life on her own.

“Nicky is doing incredibly well and has put in a lot of hard work over the past few years,” Noah said. “She’s set up a dedicated space in her apartment for her business, purchased her own car, and is actively saving money for her future.”

Nicky’s goals were clear from the beginning: return to college and grow her small business.

Today, she’s doing both. Nicky is studying part time at Portland Community College and pursuing a degree in business design. Meanwhile, she runs a vintage textile business she started from scratch. It began with a single custom piece she created for a friend and quickly gained traction online.

“People started buying right away,” Nicky said. “It’s just been a continuous cycle since then.”

“I wasn’t into it at first,” she laughs. “I was a moody teenager.”

After three years of going through Youth Villages’ financial literacy program, Nicky has learned how to treat her business like a business. She opened a dedicated bank account, learned how to track expenses, filed her taxes independently and doubled her savings account.

Nicky now has her sights set on transferring to a four-year university and reaching a point where her business income can fully support her. “I want to get to a place where I don’t have to rely on tax returns or outside help,” she said.

Though her foster care experience wasn’t easy, Nicky says ILP has been a consistent source of support.

“It’s different than having someone hovering over you telling you what to do,” she said. “With Noah, I can try new things, fail and then figure them out. He’s a mentor, not just my specialist.”

Alongside Dolly and Banana, her two cats, Nicky is building a life entirely on her own — one stitch, one class and one sale at a time.

About Youth Villages – Oregon

In collaboration with the Oregon Department of Human Services, our Oregon services focus on strengthening families to prevent or reduce the need for out-of-home placements (Intercept), supporting youth who age out of foster care or lack a stable caregiver as they transition to adulthood (LifeSet and Independent Living Program) and providing on-call behavioral health support (Specialized Crisis Services).

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