The need for family doesn’t end once a young adult ages out of foster care. Over 15,000 youth graduate from state custody each year without achieving permanency, either through reunification with their birth families or through adoption. Mentorship offers the support of a family even after foster care ends, and one of the unsung groups making a difference in this area is foster care mentors. Mentors provide powerful support for young adults leaving foster care because they are uniquely positioned to assist in their circumstances. Steve discovered this firsthand when he met his mentors, Rachel and Terry, through our partner, Connections Homes. Little did the three of them know how meaningful their relationship would become thanks to Rachel, a foster care alumna.
Mentorship for Youth Leaving Foster Care
Young adults leaving foster care (also known as transition-aged youth) often lack a reliable support system and face entering adulthood alone. For youth who age out of foster care:
- 50% experience at least one economic hardship—unable to afford clothes, rent, or other basic essentials—by age 21
- 74.2% of young men will be incarcerated by age 26
- Nearly half of young women will become pregnant by age 21
- 46% will experience homelessness by age 26
For Others’ partner, Connections Homes, seeks to provide family-like mentorship to young adults. Their Don’t Go Alone program helps pair a recent foster graduate with a mentoring family. Once the young adult agrees to the match, their mentor or mentors walk alongside them as long as the youth wants. The mentoring families may provide anything from life advice and quality time to practical support and a home for the holidays. The benefits of mentorship lead to much brighter futures and remind transition-aged youth that they’re not alone.
One young man named Steve entered the workforce without much help after aging out of foster care. Despite the challenges, he began to forge a career and achieve his goals, but beneath his ambition remained a desire for caring relationships. Even with career milestones to his name, the quiet evenings still felt hollow, and loneliness weighed heavily on his heart. When Steve’s job led him to move to Atlanta, Georgia, he knew he needed more than a roof over his head. He still needed family.
Special Connection with a Foster Care Alumna Mentor
Everything began to shift when Steve met a remarkable couple, Rachel and her husband Terry, through Connections Homes. Rachel resonated with Steve’s story on a profound level. Having lost both parents as a child, she grew up in foster care without a consistent adult presence. When she heard Steve’s story, it wasn’t just familiar, it was personal. As a foster care alumna mentor, she understood the pain of reaching adulthood and still searching for someone to say, “I’ve been where you are. You’re not alone anymore.”
In a moment of divine timing, Rachel and Terry offered Steve more than just mentorship; they offered him belonging. Their relationship became a promise: Steve was seen, cherished, and no longer walked alone.
Once in Atlanta, Steve lived in an extended-stay facility while juggling a temporary job and looking for permanent housing. Recently, with Rachel and Terry’s help, he secured his own apartment, a milestone moment made even more special by the support of the local community. But it was Rachel who transformed that space into a true home. With open hands and an even bigger heart, she identified missing items, purchased household essentials, and assisted with setting things up.
Today, thanks to the unwavering love and support of his mentoring family, Steve moved from survival to flourishing. He has a warm and caring home, complete with constant reminders that he belongs to a real family. Steve is no longer, and will never again be, alone.
Further Support for Young Adults Exiting Foster Care
Youth who age out of foster care without a support system risk many negative adulthood outcomes, including homelessness, chronic poverty, incarceration, and unplanned pregnancy. The importance of giving transition-aged youth a support system cannot be overstated. In particular, foster care mentors bring an additional level of understanding and insight. That’s why For Others partners with organizations like Connections Homes, ensuring that young adults exiting foster care find the love and guidance they need. By helping these youth transition into independence, we help break generational cycles and set them up for a stable future.
You can be a part of providing this and other crucial services, all of which help us end the child welfare crisis in America. Get involved today by making a donation.
