FYI Empowering Foster Youth

In 2017 three local women bonded over their shared passion to help young adults exiting the foster care system. Gina Stevens, Carolyn Olsen and Stacy Anton understood that high school and college age foster youth had a difficult time navigating housing, school applications, financial aid, banking, and all the skills needed to become successful, independent adults.
“So we created Fostering Youth Independence, a non-profit to support foster youth aging out of the LA County foster system, having never been reunified with their birth family, adopted or found the love, support and guidance from a family most of us are blessed to have,” explained Olsen, the executive director of FYI.
She added that “leaving foster care without achieving permanence carries lifelong consequences.” The statistics for these young adults are grim. Only 55% will have a high school diploma, and only 4% will graduate college with a bachelor’s degree. Thirty-six percent will experience homelessness within the first 18 months, and 25% will be incarcerated within two years. They are also more likely to experience hardships such as joblessness, early parenthood and substance abuse.
FYI, the largest non-profit in Santa Clarita supporting foster youth, believes that every child in the foster care system deserves a chance for a better life, and that they have the potential to break the cycle of poverty and abuse from which they have come.
FYI currently serves 73 transition-age (16 to 25 years) foster youth in the Santa Clarita Valley, and has supported 147 local youth since its inception, including finding housing for 56 youth. “There are potentially hundreds more foster youth in our Valley who could benefit from joining the FYI community,” said Olsen.
The non-profit supports local foster youth in a variety of ways. They assign each youth a caring adult volunteer Ally and a program coordinator to help them set and achieve goals in areas such as education, employment, housing, finances, health and transportation, assistance with college applications, enrollment and class registration, and referrals to resources for food, housing, health, mental health and employment. They also provide emergency financial assistance when an unexpected expense such as a car repair threatens to derail a youth’s educational plans. FYI offers “The Study Place” for online learning support and tutoring, a Ready, Set Drive! program to assist youth in obtaining their drivers license, hosts events throughout the year where the youth can connect with other youth and Allies to create a network of support, and partners with College of the Canyons for referrals and counseling. They also provide school supplies and holiday gifts.
“FYI empowers and equips Santa Clarita’s foster youth to achieve a better life, believing that education is the key to overcoming a shaky foundation and unlocking doors to a successful future,” said Olsen. “We’ve created a community made up of foster youth and people who care about them and want to help them succeed. And we invite the Santa Clarita community to join us by donating their time, talent or treasure.”
For more information visit www.fyifosteryouth.com.

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