Future Comes with a Place Called Home

Every year 1000s of adults younger than 25 years old leave the foster care system in the U.S. Between 11 and 37% can expect to experience homelessness according to U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development.

That’s where the Foster Youth to Independence comes in.

It’s a voucher program started by the federal department of HUD a year ago. It is available to public housing authorities like Alaska Housing Finance Corporation. The program provides a maximum of 25 vouchers per year and assistance limited to 36 months.

As of July 31, 2020, AHFC has submitted two sets of names (31 total) to HUD, requesting vouchers from Foster Youth to Independence.

Here’s how it worked out during the inaugural year:

• Nine young people have moved into housing;
• Seven youth are in various stages of eligibility, or have a voucher and are shopping;
• 15 have withdrawn for various reasons that involved securing other housing or not being ready at the time.

“So far the program has worked really well. We are preparing a status update to HUD and are going to ask for nine new vouchers based on a list of names prepared for us by our partner at Office of Children’s Services,” says Pamela Stantorf, project specialist in public housing.