Former foster youth housing

LaVerne Adolfo Transitional Housing Program for Former Foster Youth

“Adolfo” is a two-year transitional living program (24 months maximum) for young adults 18 to 24 who have aged out of the foster-care system.

The services provided at the program’s two sites include: living skills training; housing, employment and educational services; mentoring; and counseling in a semi-independent environment.

According to the County of Sacramento Department of Human Assistance, approximately 387 foster youth will "age out" of the foster care system this year.

At age 18, foster youth are deemed adults and, as such, are no longer eligible for support.

"The results of research about what happens to these youth are alarming," reports the DHA. "Still, teenagers, who comprise more than one-half of those in foster care, will leave the system alone, without family or other positive role models to help them as they transition to adulthood."

Follow-up studies regarding youth who exit the foster care system without any kind of support reveal that within 12 to 18 months of leaving the system:

40 percent will suffer serious physical victimization, including sexual assault
30 percent will be homeless
33 percent will be forced to rely on public assistance.

In 1999, several local agencies joined together to help change the course of these young people: the Sacramento Emancipation Collaboration.

Among the services provided by this collaboration, are a variety of housing choices offered through the LaVerne Adolfo Transitional Housing Program for Former Foster Youth.

The program is a two-year transitional living experience for young adults aged 18 to 24 who have aged out of the foster care system. The services provided at the program's three sites include: housing; employment and educational referrals; living skills training; mentoring and counseling.

Those agencies partnering with Volunteers of America in this collaborative effort are: the Sacramento County Department of Human Assistance; the Department of Health and Human Services; the Sacramento Employment and Training Agency; the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency; Transitional Living and Community Support; Lutheran Social Services; and Casey Family Programs.

Ellen O'Neil, program director
916.349.2876
916.394.1597
916.448.6593

Wells Fargo volunteers spruce up 'Adolfo' Yale

Wells Fargo volunteers Members of the Wells Fargo Auto Finance Company and Financial Office (pictured right) spent their March 8, 2007, Community Reinvestment Day giving a fresh coat of paint to the Volunteers of America LaVerne Adolfo Transitional Housing Program for Former Foster Youth home on Yale Street.

Volunteers included (from left): Angela Marshall, Justin Sheffley, Ryan Morris, Sherry Jones, Brian Bateman and Barbara Torgerson.

“We have a lot of people and a lot to give,” said spokeswoman Barbara Torgerson, who added that their visit to the house was “an enlightenment.”

“You don’t think about what happens (to foster children) when they become adults," she said. "It’s so great you have programs like this.”

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