Giving - and Getting Help, When It’s Time to Age Out of Foster Care

Aging out is tough. All the support you had seems to vanish in thin air. As a foster care alum, I still remember not wanting my 18th birthday to come. It looked like my dream of going to college was gone. Even my simple dream of finding a real family had failed. I was depressed and scared.

When you age out of foster care, you, and those who care about you, need help. Maybe it’s finding a place to live. Or a job. Or a school. But how, and where, do you find that help?

fostercoalition.com offers links to all kinds of help. They say “It's hard to help foster youth if you can't find the information you seek and don't know where to start.”

Maybe you’re aging out and having trouble finding a job. Or you’re not sure how to find a place to live that you can afford. Contact one of the many supportive organizations listed and described on the site. You’ll find information about a number of resources that can help you build a life after aging out.

For example, if you really want to get a job in the tech world and have no idea how to get started, try codecademy.com. Codecademy is a company that teaches a wide variety of coding skills you can use in lots of different jobs. And it’s one of the many resources you’ll find on the fostercoalition site.

Or perhaps you, or a foster care alum you know, needs help paying the rent. Take a look at rentassistance.us. Enter your zip code, and you’ll see organizations you can contact for help. You’ll find links to government and housing authorities, non-profit private agencies, and faith-based organizations. And it’s all pretty straightforward.

You’ll also find information and links on the fostercoalition website to places that offer degrees and skills in a variety of fields including STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). “Take control of your destiny and take advantage of free online courses to increase your employability or get introduced to/try out these fields.”

I’m a foster care alum who believes that we, and those who care about us, sometimes need help finding the resources we need as we step out into the world. I hope this brief article has been helpful.