TRANSITIONAL LIVING October to December 2014 Tennessee Report Second Quarter of Fiscal Year 2015
KEY INDICATORS
181
207
1,035 William, left, searches online for apartments and homes with Andrew, his TL specialist.
WILLIAM’S MORE COMMITTED THE SECOND TIME AROUND William made a phone call to his mentor. It was the second difficult
227
Youth Villages helps more than 600 youth in the TL program every day.
Number of youth helped by TL program so far this fiscal year
Numbers below reflect second-quarter status of youth currently in the transitional living program.
79 %
IN SCHOOL OR GRADUATED
71 %
EMPLOYED OR SEEKING EMPLOYMENT
93
%
LIVING WITH FAMILY OR INDEPENDENTLY
87
%
NO INVOLVEMENT WITH THE LAW
phone call he’d had to make recently. William told Don, his mentor, everything that happened since they’d last spoken. William left a group home and state custody at 18 without any adult skills and entered Youth Villages’ transitional living program. His mentor, Don, helped him set up an apartment and co-signed for William’s utilities. “I don’t know how many loads of food he put in my refrigerator,” William said. “He got me a phone and other things I needed for the apartment.” But William didn’t take the TL program seriously. He missed meetings and didn’t do what was expected of him. While he found an apartment and began going to school, he also began to enjoy his freedom to excess. In a very short time, William was evicted, lost his job and dropped out of school. He didn’t have many options when he called Youth Villages. Andrew Smith is William’s TL specialist. “I didn’t want to wind up being like my parents,” William said. “I knew I had to make that call, and I was welcomed back to the TL program.” A month into TL, William was hired by an employment agency. That’s when he called Don, the person who’d staked William and believed in him when he was starting out on his own. “It took me a while to call him back,” William said. “After I told him Continued on next page
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TL has helped William get a job and finding an apartment continued from previous page what had happened, he asked me, ‘Did
finish college, but that’s in the future. He
you learn anything?’”
stays in touch with family, but that’s as
William was physically abused and went into foster care when he was 11. His mother couldn’t provide a stable
far as it goes. He has good friends and good people who help him out now. “I think he’s really committed to
home for him. Residential stays at
getting something out of the program
Youth Villages’ campuses provided the
this time,” Andrew said. “He’s got a
structure and routine he needed to
clear idea and renewed energy. Ever
learn how to cope with frustrating or
since he’s been back, he wants to work.”
difficult situations. Youth Villages also
Much of what guides William’s
provided William with Don, his mentor,
progress came from Don, who’s still an
who was a critical support for William
important figure in William’s life.
when he left state custody. Don met with
“Even with all the things that he
William several times a week, many
bought me, he always had some advice
times bringing food and taking William
to give me,” William said. “And that is
bowling.
something that will always last.”
“He beat me at pool so many times it wasn’t funny,” William said. “We even went to a Civil War park.”
Without the TL program, William’s not sure about his future. “It’d either work out about the same
William, 19, has an easy-going
but more difficult, or I would have just
demeanor. In TL, he’s working on
given up,” he said. “TL kept motivating
what he calls “baby steps,” prioritizing
me and never stopped. Even after
his goals and pursuing them, one
dropping the program the first time,
by one. He’s learning about money
Youth Villages came back and helped
management and scheduling his
me.
time effectively. He’s looking for an
“I have TL and my friends — I’m
apartment while staying with a friend.
grateful for them, but I know in the end
William wants to return to school and
it’s up to me to do what I need to do.”
“YOUTH VILLAGES AND TENNESSEE DCS HAVE A STREAMLINED REFERRAL PROCESS THAT IDENTIFIES YOUTH LIKELY TO AGE OUT OF FOSTER CARE, TO MAXIMIZE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL SUCH YOUTH TO GET THE SERVICE. TRANSITIONAL LIVING CAN BE PROVIDED EVEN WHEN YOUTH ACCEPT OTHER SERVICES, SUCH AS EXTENSION OF FOSTER CARE. THIS ALLOWS FOR A MORE COMPREHENSIVE AVAILABILITY OF SUPPORTIVE ADULTS AND ARRAY OF SERVICES. WE BELIEVE THIS PUTS TENNESSEE AT THE FOREFRONT NATIONALLY IN TERMS OF SUPPORT FOR AGED-OUT YOUTH. YOUTH VILLAGES STAFF RESPOND TO REFERRALS PROMPTLY, EFFECTIVELY ASSESS THE YOUTHS’ NEEDS, AND START GETTING SERVICES IN PLACE QUICKLY. TRANSITIONAL LIVING SERVICES ARE INDIVIDUALIZED AND FOCUSED ON HELPING YOUTH LEARN HOW TO SET THEIR OWN GOALS, FIND AND USE RESOURCES AND ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS. THE FOCUS IS ON LONG-TERM SUCCESS AND NOT JUST GETTING THROUGH A CURRENT ROUGH PATCH. THIS ALLOWS FOR A LOT OF YOUTH TO BE SERVED IN AN EFFECTIVE WAY. YOUTH VILLAGES TRANSITIONAL LIVING IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF TENNESSEE’S EFFORT TO SUPPORT YOUNG PEOPLE OVERCOMING ADVERSITY AND BECOMING HEALTHY AND PRODUCTIVE MEMBERS OF SOCIETY.” Tennessee DCS Independent Living Assistant Director Dave Aguzzi
TO MAKE A REFERRAL Contact the nearest Youth Villages office and ask to make a referral to the TL program. You may also contact the nearest Department of Children’s Services office and ask to speak to the local independent living specialist about TL services.
Founded in 1986, Youth Villages is a leading national nonprofit dedicated to providing the most effective local solutions to help emotionally and behaviorally troubled children and their families live successfully. We help more than 22,000 children and families each year from more than 20 states and Washington, D.C. Youth Villages’ Evidentiary Family Restoration™ approach involves intensive work with the child and family, a focus on measuring outcomes, keeping children in the community whenever safely possible, and providing unprecedented accountability to families and funders.
www.youthvillages.org
Youth Villages is accredited by the Joint Commission.
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