Graduation Brings Increased Anxiety for Foster Youth

Graduation is a time when foster care youth experience increased anxiety. Foster care youth living in foster homes or residential treatment facilities, who have reached the age of 18 and have graduated from high school, must find another place to call home. For some of these youth, the foster families they have been living with are no longer in a position to take care of them. These youth are then asked to leave.


The daunting statistic remains: nearly forty percent of former foster youth end up homeless within 18 months of being discharged from foster care. As a leader in the foster care system in Los Angeles County, we did something about this to help these youth move on in a positive way. About five years ago, Hillsides established Youth Moving On, a transitional living and housing program that helps former foster youth transition successfully into adulthood.

We offer former foster youth quality, affordable housing, mentoring, financial literacy, mental health support, vocational and tuition assistance, among many more services. Hillsides Youth Moving On is a supportive community that works side by side with youth who want to achieve successes as they journey into an unknown future. With the help of mentors, these youth receive guidance, support, and an attentive ear. For anyone interested in mentoring these youth, learn more about the transitional living and housing program. Find out how to become a mentor at http://www.hillsides.org/site_info.php?siid=36&id=137 and help them transition through this period with relative ease.