The threat of losing AmeriCorps funding significantly endangers initiatives crucial for supporting the well-being and prospects of foster youth, notably exemplified by programs like the Public Health AmeriCorps (PHA) program and Transitional Age Youth (TAY) AmeriCorps program. These programs transcend basic employment opportunities by underpinning them with robust hands-on training and guided professional development, crucial for the individual advancement of over 300 foster youth annually to self-sufficiency. By equipping these youth with essential training and real-world experience, not only does it bolster their communities, it promotes economic growth through service.
Simultaneously, our TAY AmeriCorps program serves over 35,000 foster youth and foster families annually across six states annually, connecting them to nearly $150 million in vital resources thus ensuring they are armed with the necessary tools to transition successfully from care to independent living. These resources not only address the immediate needs but also prepare the youth for long-term success through strategic, multidimensional support encompassing services, products, and connectivity with supportive adults. Our PHA TAY AmeriCorps program ensures LA County’s most vulnerable residents get the medical care they need. As part of Eisner Health, LA County’s oldest and largest community health system, PHA TAY AmeriCorps members schedule over 50,000 patient visits and ensure that patients are attending appointments and important health classes, picking up their prescriptions on time, and getting the wellness supports they need.
The synergy between both iFoster AmeriCorps programs represents an impactful alliance of youth who are dedicated to helping others succeed. These programs not only supply these youth with a rich repository of resources and support but also weave in structured employment pathways and professional development, addressing employment barriers and enabling meaningful community service.
This dual-faceted approach showcases a robust model for empowering opportunity youth, aligning iFoster’s comprehensive resource network with AmeriCorps’s targeted, service-oriented framework. It underscores both entities’ significant roles in ensuring foster youth do more than merely survive; they thrive, evolving into active, contributing members of society.
Maintaining AmeriCorps funding is thus not just about sustaining these programs but is a crucial investment in our youth’s future and strengthening community-based solutions. Such funding ensures the continuation of transformative journeys for numerous transition-age youth, fostering environments where they, and in turn, their communities, can flourish.
Do not take our word for it. Hear how AmeriCorps is been an agent of change:
Arzo Yusuf, CEO of Angels Nest
Without AmeriCorps, the capacity of local non-profits like mine to drive initiatives and gain the recognition that propels our mission forward would suffer. Having iFoster AmeriCorps interns has allowed us to increase outreach efforts by 1500% and triple our intake forms, which has resulted in helping hundreds of foster youth in crisis throughout LA County. Through our job training program, many foster youth’s lives have been positively impacted, as they now have the stability to attend college, maintain permanent housing, and experience improvements in overall mental well-being.
Service typically starts as a personal call to action. Partnering with iFoster and AmeriCorps channels those individual calls into a movement of like-minded people who, through their lived experience, are ready to contribute indispensably to our work and community initiatives nationwide, reinforcing the notion that together, we can engender substantial and meaningful change.