Each year, dozens of teens in Linn County age out of foster care. These teens often lack the support and resources that young adults need to live independently.
To address these barriers, JLCR started Bridging the G.A.P. (Guide. Advocate. Provide.) in 2011. Since then, we have expanded the project to include additional support around housing.
Bridging the G.A.P. Includes:
Guide
In Guide, we provide bi-monthly meals for youth at their AMP meetings, a youth council for young people in an out-of-home placement, like foster care. This meal ensures youth have a hot, home cooked meal each time they attend a meeting.
League members also provide lessons during some AMP meetings to help share life skills and support with the youth who attend.
Advocate
To Advocate, members learn about issues that impact youth in the Iowa foster care system. We host guest speakers to talk about these issues and how to be an effective advocate.
Each winter, we attend the AMP Day on the Hill at the Iowa Capital. There, we speak with representatives about the policy issues AMP youth have identified as important to them.
Provide
There are several components to Provide. The first one is Apartment in a Suitcase. We provide approximately 35 suitcase kits per year to young people aging out into their first apartment. This is the first time they’re living on their own.
Suitcases (and the accompanying totes, trash can and laundry basket) contain many of the basic living supplies needed when living on your own. The value of these items is about $700.
Also in Provide, we host the Housing First Project. In this project, 3-5 individuals are awarded a year-long housing scholarship. We pay 100% of their rent (up to $650) for the first six months, then 66% for 3 months, then 33% for 3 months.
While in the program, the participants work with their social case worker to develop budgeting skills. Ideally, participants have a comfortable safety net of savings at the end of the year because they received the rent assistance.
The last part of Provide is our scholarship program. A $10,000 scholarship is used to fund small needs for many young people who have aged out.
Scholarships are granted for needs including:
- A U-Haul to move out of an abusive relationship
- A name change to help build a new sense of independence and stability after childhood trauma
- Car repairs so the young person can get to work and keep their job
Each of these components help dozens of young people in the Cedar Rapids community gain and maintain stability after aging out of foster care. We are proud to operate this program for the last decade purely through volunteer work and the support of our community.