Youth Villages, a national nonprofit organization and a leader in the field of children’s mental and behavioral health, has partnered with the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS) to offer LifeSet, a program that serves as a bridge from foster care to adulthood.
Brett Houle was in the Youth Villages LifeSet program in 2009. Eleven years later, he was reunited with Youth Villages when the moving company he works for, Two Men & a Truck,
When she was only 9 years old, Emely was abused by someone she thought she could trust. She was forced to do and see things no child should have to experience. For eight years, the abuse was constant and ongoing.
Meet Keshawna, a bright, intelligent, independent college freshman ready to take on the world. Looking at her, you would think her life was picture perfect, but it wasn’t.
Moving to a college can be an exciting yet anxious experience for many young people. For those aging out of foster care, applying to and even getting enrolled in a college can be a monumental task. That’s where LifeSet comes in.
At times, the hurt is too unbearable to return. When ties are cut, it can affect more than immediate family. It can reverberate through the community and sever bonds with friends, acquaintances and extended relatives. For Clarita, the pattern of hurt took a turn for the worse when she was 8 years old.
For many college students, the campus becomes like home. For LifeSet participant Zephaniah, college is literally providing him a home.
Nineteen-year-old Trinity has learned many life skills through the Youth Villages LifeSet program, which serves as a bridge from foster care to successful adulthood and helps young adults build the skills they need to live independently and successfully.
Leaders from all 20 implementing LifeSet partner agencies attended a convening in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to learn more about effectively implementing the program model and to share insights from implementations in their states and jurisdictions.
At 6 years old, Brett entered foster care. He spent 11 years in and out of group homes and different foster placements. Finding a permanent home felt like it was never going to happen for him.