Did you know that many of the youth and young adults Anchor House serves have spent time in foster care? Youth who are aging-out of foster care face significant challenges, including up to a 30% chance of becoming homeless.
The link between homelessness and foster care is so well documented that some have called the child welfare system “a highway to homelessness,” according to the National Foster Youth Institute. Anchor House programs like Connect to Home are designed to create detours from that path, helping youth aging out of foster care secure housing, build the skills needed for independent living, and connect to services.
Recently, Executive Director Kim McNear had the pleasure of meeting Angel Morris at a Bank of America event where Angel shared with Kim how she transitioned out of the foster system through a program similar to the ones Anchor House offers. Angel also shared how Year Up United, a yearlong, tuition-free career training program that helps young adults build job skills and obtain paid internships, helped to jumpstart her career at Bank of America as a software engineer. After learning more about Anchor House from Kim, Angel decided to help an organization that had a mission that sounded near and dear to her heart. Through Year Up United, Angel was able to secure an ACTion Grant that provides the program’s alumni with money toward a community service project. The funds were used to create Welcome Home Baskets that Angel happily delivered to Anchor House for our young adults, many who are aging out of the foster care system and will now be safely housed in their own apartment for the first time. What a great way for youth to start off a new journey into adulthood than to do it with essential items for them to have in their new home.
Angel explained that the reason for the Welcome Home Baskets is that she knows from firsthand experience that youth are struggling to cover the basics and necessities and wished she had one when she was in transitional housing. By having some of the essentials on hand, Angel hoped that the youth could purchase items to make their new places feel more like a home.
Since the program’s inception in 2017, Year Up United alumni have made a positive impact on nearly 20,000 individuals across the United States and abroad. As Angel described, “Year Up United is a structured, paid program that includes a six-month learning and development phase, followed by a 6-month paid internship where participants apply the skills they’ve learned in real-world settings while continuing to grow on the job.” During the learning and development phase, Angel explained that participants gain valuable skills to prepare them for future careers, including resume building and developing skills like how to network at professional events. Angel noted that participants choose from different tracks to pursue, as she decided on software development, and the internships can often lead to job offers as it did for her at Bank of America. She believed that young people who have experienced foster care are often more motivated to succeed in programs like Year Up United and break cycles of instability for themselves and future generations.
Speaking of future generations, the majority of participants in programs like Connect to Home are parenting youth (70% in 2025), so Anchor House is also providing housing and supportive services for their children, as well as parenting education and guidance for these young parents. Research shows that youth in foster care are 71% likely to become pregnant before age 21 and studies show that children of parents who experienced foster care are at a significantly higher risk of entering the child welfare system themselves, contributing to an intergenerational cycle of foster care involvement. Programs like Connect to Home are designed to break this cycle, connecting parenting youth with resources like mental health services and workforce development.
The timing of Kim meeting Angel and exploring a partnership with Year Up United is especially meaningful as Anchor House is preparing to launch a new Career Navigation Initiative designed to help youth move beyond simply “getting a job” and begin exploring and pursuing meaningful career paths. This is especially needed for aging-out youth as research shows that only half of former foster youth are employed by age 24. This summer, Anchor House will welcome a Career Navigator Intern through funding provided by the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education (OSHE) who will help staff in designing and building this new initiative while working directly with youth to explore careers and help them identify and overcome barriers to employment and education.
Angel has also offered to speak with youth about her journey and career path and help Anchor House continue to explore a partnership with Year Up United which she credits for changing her life. “I have a special place in my heart for youth who have been in foster care, and I know firsthand how this program can get them a foot in the door.”
Thank you again to Angel and Year Up United! More updates will be shared as our Career Navigation Initiatives develop.
Learn more about Year Up United at https://www.yearupunited.org and https://www.yearup.org/research/pace.
