Tiny houses help foster youth transition out of care in West Virginia. What happens when foster youth age out of care is scary. Currently, 1/4 of the homeless population spent time in foster care. The statistics of where aged out youth ends up is shocking.

Thankfully, Stepping Stones’ Youth Transition Program is helping set up foster youth for success. The purpose of their program is to teach foster youth daily living skills that can help them succeed in their transition out of care.

The Tiny Home Approach

Thanks to the West Virginia Department of Education School Diversion and Transition, two tiny homes were sponsored and built by people serving sentences at Prunytown Correctional Center.

Executive Director of Stepping Stones, Susan Fry, applied for a grant to pay for nine more tiny homes. The village will have 12 homes total, each costing around $30,000 to build.

The first participant, Corey Dunn, 18, is excited to move in. “There’s going to be a lot of heavy metal posters,” he said.

Teaching Independence

Fry explains the model. “He (Corey Dunn) is going to be paying rent, he is going to be paying utilities, he is going to have a budget to handle. We want him to learn to handle his finances and live on his own.”

Because of the coronavirus outbreak, the youth have had more lessons. Fry shares, “There’s the extra cleaning that he needs to do, not just daily but multiple times a day, along with disinfecting and handwashing.”

In Conclusion

In conclusion, it is vital to find solutions to help foster youth transition out of care. We need to support these youths and help them develop the skills to take care of themselves and be independent adults.

For those interested in helping foster youth, check out our Family Fellowship Scholarship here.