You have been in foster care for years – removed from your biological family because of abuse and neglect. You’ve rotated through multiple placements, through group homes and residential treatment centers. Suddenly you find yourself out at 21 with only the support you can muster on your own.
That was true for some of the most vulnerable kids who aged out of foster care in Montgomery County last year. This time we at 4Montgomery’s Kids were there to help.
Research shows that abruptly ending support on a 21st birthday abandons young people just when they need critical assistance. It ignores threats of homelessness, cuts education when many are still in school, disrupts mental health services for those coping with histories of trauma and abuse, and plunges a young parent and their children into poverty.
Using this research, and after talking with experts at the University of Pennsylvania, in Los Angeles, and colleagues in Prince George’s County, 4Montgomery’s Kids embarked on a Pilot Guaranteed Income Program. Nine youth were identified to receive $600 a month for one year – no strings attached.
Those identified were initially interviewed about their working, living, educational, and emotional states. They will be interviewed again at 6 and 12 months to see if the money has made a difference in their lives.
Throughout the year, we’ll partner with Empowering the Ages to provide mentorship. Empowering the Ages, another Montgomery County nonprofit, will work with our nine on getting county services, applying and interviewing for jobs, and basics like getting a checking account and keeping track of spending.
We will report what we find to you, our donors. But already one young woman has said our funding has prevented an eviction, gotten her job training, and put her in a full-time job. She reports, “I feel amazing!”
Our pilot is being funded solely by the 4MK board. Since the program goes beyond anything we’ve ever asked of you, we felt it was important not to spend your funds before we told you about it.
Now you know!! Know, too, that our program is one of only three we could find anywhere devoted exclusively to those aging out of foster care.
We hope to continue and even expand our Guaranteed Income Program. For that, we need your support. You have been so generous to 4MK in the past. We know you will generously support this new program, as well.[1]
[1] Of course we are also staying true to our core mission. The approaching end of the school year will mean sending kids to summer camp and our annual scholarships for deserving graduates who are attending college and trade schools. But that and more is for our next newsletter.