Housing and Supportive Services for Foster Youth

Support for foster and systems-impacted youth

County of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a countywide benefit) City of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a citywide benefit)

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

Transition-age youth (18-25) are one of the most vulnerable populations in our community, and the challenges of transitioning to adulthood are compounded even further for former foster youth. Foster youth face a significantly higher risk of low educational attainment and unemployment than their non-foster peers, with only about 57% of foster youth completing high school. These factors contribute to additional barriers to housing, with many youth also unaware of available housing resources. More than half of these young people experience homelessness or housing insecurity in the years immediately following their exit from the foster care system. For Black and Hispanic children, who are disproportionately involved in foster care, they face even greater disparities due to systemic and individual bias. Optimist is working to end the pipeline of foster youth to homelessness, ensure equitable and whole-person care, and provide the youth we serve with tools to achieve their goals.

Optimist offers a continuum of services for transition-age youth (18-25) that includes supportive housing, mental health care, and educational and career pathways. Our housing programs operate in partnership with the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD), serving former foster youth and students, many of whom have found themselves homeless. Because we understand that housing alone is not enough to ensure youth have the tools needed to build bright futures, our Leading Optimism Los Angeles (LOLA) Clubhouse is available to all residents and community members (ages 18-25) on-site as a drop-in community hub with a range of resources. Services include job skills training, workshops with community organizations, and connections to job opportunities through local business partners. We continue to expand our job training programs including providing career pathways that don’t necessarily require a college degree.

Through these services, we uphold four areas of success for each youth served: emotional wellness, education, healthy relationships, and career. With individualized case management and an emphasis on the power of community, youth build independent life skills, emotional resilience, social support, educational success, and self-advocacy. Additionally, a primary goal of the Clubhouse is provision of employment programming to help youth attain independence and financial stability.

With over 1,500 youth exiting the welfare system in Los Angeles every year, and facing disproportionate systemic and personal challenges that contribute to elevated risk of adverse outcomes, housing and supportive services are more needed than ever. Our programs meet the needs of a vulnerable and disadvantaged population. Through our programs, youth are supported step-by-step as they heal their trauma, finish their education, acquire sustainable jobs with livable wages, and achieve their personal goals. Our housing and Clubhouse programs for transition-age youth serve approximately 225 youth each year through safe housing, crisis intervention, resource linkages, and educational and workforce development opportunities. Programs like ours are critical in helping the young people of Los Angeles, struggling with mental health, lack of economic mobility, and homelessness, to defy the odds and build bright futures.