September is Suicide Prevention Month, a time to end the stigma around suicides and offer help to those experiencing a mental health crisis. Tennessee had a total of 1,219 suicides last year, an 11% increase since 2015. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death by...
As Mikki approached their 18th birthday, they were about to age out of foster care…
Jaq-cari is 12 years old and in the Youth Villages Intercept program…
Annually, 20,000 youth age out of foster care, and they are often left with little to no resources to transition successfully into adulthood…
By Elina MorrisonYouth Villages Advisory Council Dear 17-year-old Elina, At this time in your life, you are angry and sad, and things feel beyond repair. It’s October of 2017, and you have been placed in the foster care system for the second time in your life. While...
Many children enter foster care because of a lack of support in a time of family crisis. Youth Villages’ intensive in-home services program, Intercept, provides support and help for children and parents that can make a difference. At 16, Gloria had already experienced...
For Middle Tennessee-based Jaywanna Neal, fostering is second nature. Growing up, her mom opened her home to foster children and adopted a pair of siblings. When Jaywanna was single and in her 20s, she took in her first foster child. She said it was a great...
More than 800 young adults age out of foster care in Massachusetts each year…
Since 2017, LifeSet has been offered in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania through a partnership between Youth Villages and the county Department of Human Services (DHS). LifeSet provides a bridge to successful adulthood for young people aging out of other public support systems.
It’s been a big year for Justin.
A participant in the Pressley Ridge LifeSet program in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Justin was turning 21 this year and needed to finish high school, find a place to live that gave him more independence, and learn life and social skills. He and LifeSet Specialist Ryan King kept a list and began checking things off.