The Orange Duffel Bag Foundation and Aging Out Of Foster Care

I stumbled across this startling statistic on the A Resounding Echo blog: “More than 70% of our nation’s prison population recount having been in foster care or homeless shelters as children at some point.”

She also talks about lack of care given to children that age out: “Only 18 states out of the 50 have applied to extend care to young people in foster care beyond age 18, yet all the research points to most young people needing some sort of parental support until age 26. Why do legislators persist in thinking kids who have been institutionalized in a group home setting (which most teens in foster care are) should magically be ready to be on their own the day they turn 18? As a parent, if I walked into a party and announced proudly that I’d dropped my son off at a homeless shelter so that he could learn to make it on his own the day he turned 18, I’d be vilified. Yet that’s what our states are doing.”

Her organization The Orange Duffel Bag Foundation assists those aging out. Their vision is as follows:

• “To be a partner with at-risk youth and empower them to create their own individual, dynamic life plans, and support them in formulating and achieving their goals.
• To be an ongoing resource for at-risk youth (primarily ages 14 to 24, which includes those who have aged out of foster care and those who are homeless); to inspire positive change, leadership and character development; and to enable them to visualize their futures clearly and identify and practice the behaviors needed to achieve their desired results and dreams.
• To be a resource for at-risk youth to gain confidence, self-advocacy skills and attain peer-to-peer mentoring based on My Orange Duffel Bag training and the principles of the 7 Rules for the Road.
• To be a resource to empower at-risk youth who complete the program by presenting them with orange duffel bags including computers/laptops/or iPads and other tools to facilitate community connections; to bridge the digital divide created by poverty; and to enable them to achieve their educational, employment and life goals.
• To be a symbol of hope for at-risk youth through coaching, mentoring and raising community awareness using the orange duffel bag in the powerful way the pink ribbon represents hope for those with breast cancer and their loved ones.
• To be a bridge connecting the business community with the limitless potential of at-risk youth when given opportunity.
• To be an influence on community involvement so that homeless, at-risk and foster youth are recognized and treated as valuable individuals to be encouraged and supported as they mature into self-sufficient adults.
• To be recognized as an expert coaching, training and ongoing mentoring resource for at-risk youth, homeless youth and those in foster care and aging out and to be the agency of choice for the provision of these services.”

REFORM Puzzle Piece