Eradicating the foster care to homeless pipeline
Because Not Even One young person should age out of foster care into homelessness.
Fostering Promise exists to ensure
every young person aging out of foster care has
a safe place to call home, the support of
a caring mentor and
the hope for a promising future.
Our Why
Across the San Francisco Bay Area, hundreds of young people age out of foster care without a home, the support of family or a plan.
This puts them at dire risk — making it nearly impossible to flourish in school, work, or life.
Our How
We are building a foster care ecosystem — convening the cross-sector collaborators needed to solve this crisis – leaders in housing, child welfare, technology, public policy, philanthropy and young people with lived experience.
By centering the voices of young adults with experience in foster care, we advance youth-led policies and practices that prevent homelessness before it begins. Not merely reacting, rather transforming the system itself.
“We need to stop just pulling people out of the river. Some of us need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in.”
-Desmond Tutu
Our Priorities and Pilot
Through partnerships and collaborations we are working to:
- Develop My Housing Platform - a mobile solution to help young adults prepare for, find and secure housing and mentorship.
- Secure 500 new housing units for youth exiting foster care across the San Francisco Bay Area
- Build a searchable Housing Repository
- Ensure every young person has access to a Housing Voucher
Once in place, we will launch a pilot program to provide a scalable and replicable proof of concept for our housing roadmap.
DID YOU KNOW?
in the next three years
approximately 1,000 young adults
will age out of the foster care system
across the San Francisco Bay Area.
One out of four
of those young adults will experience homelessness within two years of
aging out of the system.
three out of four
youth experiencing homelessness
in the Bay Area were once in foster care
or the juvenile justice system.
African-American YOUTH
are disproportionately overrepresented
in foster care by 2-3X.
50% of youth
who are or were in foster care
will develop substance dependency.
Up to 80%
of those who were in foster care
will struggle with mental illness.
Who We Are
We are an advocacy non-profit organization committed to youth-driven policies, that ensures every young person who ages out of foster care has a safe place to call home, the hope for a promising future, and the support of a caring mentor.
Our Work
We strive to empower current and former foster youth to become leaders within their communities, leading the charge for policy change and advocating for the provision of support and resources that enable young people to thrive as they navigate their way into adulthood.
We collaborate with stakeholders to identify and address systemic issues that contribute to the challenges faced by emerging adults aging out of foster care. This includes advocating for changes to the child welfare and juvenile justice system, improving access to housing and mental health services, and addressing issues related to racial and economic inequality that impact young people upon existing foster care.
Through advocacy together we have an opportunity to ensure that no young person leaves foster care without a safe place to call home, the hope for a promising future, and the guidance and support of a caring mentor.
“Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.” — Isaiah 1:17 NIV
Learn about the issues for young adults exiting foster care and the Fostering Promise policy priorities
Read the two-year action plan for each of the five Fostering Promise policy priorities
Fostering Promise Overview
Fostering Promise: An Overview of Our Work and Our Why
Fostering Promise Policy Workshop With Community Leaders and Young Adults with Lived Experience
Silicon Valley On the Table convenings with former foster youth discussing the housing crisis
2023 HIF Summit - Speech by André V. Chapman
Silicon Valley ALF Community leadership Award and launching of Fostering Promise