The Fountain Gate

The Fountain Gate will be a place of refuge, a place of new beginnings, a place of hope, a place of celebration, and a place of growth for older youth in foster care and those who have recently aged-out or otherwise transitioned out of foster care.

Most of the youth we work with were removed from homes where abuse/neglect were identified, and they all have some level of trauma due to the abuse/neglect they suffered. Historically, many these youth will leave the foster care system and immediately become homeless and face adulthood with very few skills, resources, or supports. The Fountain Gate will serve as a safe space for one-on-one mentoring, basic adult life skill training, social capital building, and peer interaction. It will also be an informational hub for local resources available to older youth, such as landlord listings, food banks and community kitchens, job postings, and GED/college courses. Faith Bridge Co-Pilots (mentors) will use the meeting space to offer assistance with applications for FAFSA, FYI vouchers for housing, medical insurance, renter’s insurance, employment, etc. A study/work area, complete with alternative seating options, laptops, wifi, and a printer, will be available for youth to complete HiSET (GED) courses, driver’s license practice tests, and high school/college course work. A kitchen and laundry area will be fully stocked so teens can learn how to create meals, care for a kitchen, and other housekeeping skills like laundry, cleaning, and grocery budgeting. The upstairs space will be a 1-2 bedroom apartment for older youth who need a temporary place to stay as they transition out of care. As an alternative to young adult homelessness, we will offer a safe, comfortable place for them to live while they secure permanent housing and find employment. This process typically takes 2-3 weeks depending on the availability of appropriate housing. As there are no shelters or transitional homes in the area, Faith Bridge currently pays for hotel rooms for youth in this situation. To have an apartment available would not only ease the transition for youth, it would also allow us to reallocate that funding into other program areas.