Kristie Wimbush beat all the odds… Only about three percent of young people who experience foster care graduate from university. Kristie received her bachelor’s degree from North Carolina Central University in May of 2016. A year later, she earned a master’s degree in...
Featured Stories Articles
Youth Villages’ counselors help teen overcome challenges
By Shayne Dotson Adrian was born in prison and his childhood was a nightmare of abuse. He thought his life would never get better, and the only way to end his suffering was to commit suicide. Finally, he came to Youth Villages for help in one of the...
Alabama Dad goes the distance to reunite his family
Rudolfo Duenes was in Atlanta when he got the phone call that changed his family’s life. His ex-wife, living in Birmingham, Alabama, had been found unconscious in her home. Drugs were involved. Their children, Gavin, 3, and McKenzie, just 2, had been alone in the...
Love instantly: Foster to adoption and now the best Mother’s Day for family
Wes and Keely Jennings don’t know their birth mother and have not yet gotten the chance to shower a mom with love on Mother’s Day with handmade crafts or homemade breakfast.At ages 5 and 4 respectively, the siblings have spent much of their lives in foster...
Nearly homeless at 18, a young woman finds help from a Youth Villages mentor
After more than 30 foster homes, Terrenika ages out of care with support from her Youth Villages mentor and YVLifeSet. By Shayne Dotson Terrenika Maxwell spent most of her life in and out of foster care homes, then she turned 18 and was nearly homeless. Two months...
Study of YVLifeSet program continues with release of third MDRC report
Research findings are used to enhance program, increase effectiveness YVLifeSet is part of the largest rigorous random assignment controlled study of a program to help former foster youth every conducted. MDRC has found that YVLifeSet is one of the only programs that...
Intercept helps Kaitlin and her grandmother rebuild relationship
Kaitlin, 16, missed more than 40 days of school last year. She was attending an alternative school after being arrested and expelled for theft. She was on probation with a strict curfew. “My grandmother and I couldn’t have a conversation without yelling,”...
Intensive program helps former foster youth become successful adults
By Jane Schneider Tarika is busy pondering her future. At age 21, the tall, soft-spoken young woman lives at her cousin’s house in North Memphis, where she tends her two young children. She’s only recently given birth to her second son and is eager to find a place of...
Children in Youth Villages’ mentoring program reach out to seniors
“I understand how hard it is to be away from your family, but someone loves and cares about you,” a Youth Villages child wrote.When Tangina Sanders, manager of Youth Villages’ Chris Crye Mentoring Program, asked children participating in the program at Youth Villages...
Jennifer H. Jones joins Youth Villages as chief marketing officer
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Jennifer Hoffman Jones has been named chief marketing officer at Youth Villages, the Memphis-headquartered private nonprofit organization that helps more than 22,000 emotionally troubled children and their families each year in 12 states and the...