Health & Well-Being

Mary was just 18 years old when she reached out to Foster Success for support, finding herself without a stable place to live and relying on couch surfing. After exiting foster care, she enrolled in college, but the weight of newfound responsibilities was overwhelming. The freedom she craved after years of limited autonomy in foster care led her to step away from her education. However, the financial realities of life on her own prevented her from affording an apartment.

Unfortunately, homelessness was not a new experience for Mary. At 14, she entered foster care while pregnant and in an unsafe environment, having already endured an unstable childhood marked by frequent moves and periods of homelessness. Mary’s story is all too common. Foster Success supported more than 300 young people through Health & Well-Being programs and resources. During this time, Foster Success provided more than $109K in financial support and countless hours of human support to ensure that young people were safely housed and able to meet their basic needs. According to the most recent impact survey, 20% of young people have experienced housing insecurity within the past year.

Meeting Basic Needs, like housing, is the first step towards self-sufficiency. The Basic Needs program, built on the pillars of Solve, Support, and Sustain, is designed to address immediate needs, provide deeper support to tackle the root causes of emergencies and sustain long-term stability through resources and guidance.

Mary’s connection with Foster Success began when she was 16 through the Indiana Youth Advisory Board (IYAB). But it was during the pandemic that she turned to the organization for help in moving beyond the uncertainty of couch surfing. Foster Success acted quickly to secure stable housing, first by arranging a short-term hotel stay, followed by assisting her in finding a long-term apartment.

“They helped me find an apartment, pay half the deposit, pay half my first month’s rent, get my bills turned on.”