Young adults who leave state care are one of the most vulnerable groups that have to manage on their own, after spending years in the child protection system. They face a range of issues upon leaving state care, such as: emotional instability, lack of or insufficiently developed independent living skills, low self-esteem, lack of financial and material resources necessary to begin independent life, health issues and poorly developed intellectual skills. Hope and Homes for Children aims to children with a roof over their heads and love of a family to help them flourish.
Empowering young adults through social emotional learning and digital literacy
With the support of Think Human Foundation, the association has helped young adults who are beneficiaries of the project, secure jobs, earn a steady income and flourish. Social and emotional learning has also helped them develop high self-esteem as well as confidence to accomplish great things in life.
Through digital literacy, they have developed skills in order to find and maintain jobs, and to further their education.
During the first couple of months of 2023, the association identified the target group for the second year of our programme, as well as planning the best type of support for them, based on the needs identified in each case. In the association’s target group, 6 out of the 8 young adults found a job and are still employed after several months, 2 of them are continuing their education, while the other two who have not been employed yet are still looking for jobs, their situation being a little more complicated by their health status. At the same time, the living conditions for all these young adults have improved, they have developed several independent living skills and require only minimum support at this point, mostly in the form of someone to share their progress with or seek advice from. Below is a testimony from one of the beneficiaries:
“My dears,
I cannot put into words how much I thank you for all the help and support you have given me over the years. You have stood by me in difficult times and encouraged me in everything I have done. As you know, I have had many challenges in my life, but I have been able to overcome them largely because of your guidance and support, both financially and morally. You gave me the support I needed to stay on track."
With gratitude,
Alexandru
Change in the beneficiaries’ life and families
With rarely any support from their families as in the case of young adults raised outside state care, young adults coming from the child protection system face far more challenges in trying to become independent, because they lack skills, a support network, confidence and knowledge. Our interventions were aimed exactly at the following areas: the association has helped them find suitable accommodation, obtain a job, gain essential skills for independent life and we were there for them every step of the way, therefore building their confidence and resilience, empowering them to find solutions to their problems on their own.
Some of the young adults were reunited with family members, others were supported to build a life together with their partners and others were encouraged and helped to stay in school or continue their education.
With the support of Hope and Homes for Children and Think Human Foundation, there are 8 young adults already independent or on their way to becoming independent, who have the knowledge, the skills and the resources to live a fulfilling life.
