Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/198486
(facing page, clockwise from left) Gale Stewart, Angelina Oakes, Husain Vahanvaty and Roshine Morrison are building a brighter future for foster kids. (centre) Aunt Leah's Place; (this page) Gale Stewart, executive director. "Aunt Leah's is very much fashioned after what a grandmother, grandfather, uncle or aunt would do to support a child who was dependent on them," says Stewart. "That is, to provide the practical life skills needed to launch a young person into adulthood." Stewart also developed the Support Link Program, which provides teens about to age out of foster care with semi-independent suites by pairing them with a friendly landlord and a support worker who will teach them how to set goals and live on their own. Davidson entered the Support Link Program two years ago. Support workers helped him find an apartment to rent and he started attending their essential life skills meetings. "I learned how to budget, how to shop, how to cook, basically how to take care of myself," he says. "If I didn't go to those meetings I'd probably still be eating mini pizzas and pizza pops, because that's all I ate when I was younger." In 2010, Vancouver Foundation gave Aunt's Leah's Place a $175,000 three-year grant to establish its Link Program. "The Link" provides youth who have turned 19 and aged out of care, as well as past participants of the Support Link Program, with a support worker who helps them look for jobs, finish school, find housing and connect with community services. The Foundation provided additional funding this year to extend the program. The Link Program has been a resounding success. At the end of its second year, more than 80 per cent of the 36 youth enrolled in the program had found secure housing. This year, another 75 young people have entered the program. The support services available through the Link Program are reflective of the type of policy changes Vancouver Foundation's Youth Homelessness Initiative is hoping the BC government will implement by extending foster care support services beyond 19 to provide a continuum of care for foster youth into adulthood. After turning 19 in February, Davidson entered the Link Program. Aunt Leah's provided a tutor to help him brush up on math skills as well as a $150 monthly housing subsidy so he could complete his high school education. After graduating Grade 12 this year, Davidson received certification in Health Canada's Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS). He's now working full time in waste disposal and plans to move to northern BC to work in the resource sector. "Being a foster kid can be tough some days," reflects Davidson. "Some days all you're looking for is something to lift the weight off your shoulders. The Link Program does that. "Sometimes I see kids standing around the same street corner I used to hang out on," says Davidson. "I just want to go up to them and give them a shake and tell them to get their life together." These days, Davidson has his sights set on starting a family and one day owning his own home. "The Link Program helped me mature," he says. "Before becoming involved in the program, I was basically a hoodlum. Now I'm more responsible and know how to live independently. I'd like to take what I've learned and raise my children a lot differently from how I was brought up." VF If you would like to support young people like Robert Davidson as they age out of government care, contact Peter in Development and Donor Services at 604.629.5357. To learn more about Vancouver Foundation's Youth Homelessness Initiative, go to vancouverfoundation.ca/yhi Fall 2013 I Vancouver Foundation l page 11 p09-11 Aunt Leah's Place.indd 11 13-10-11 1:31 PM