May is National Foster Care Month

National Foster Care Month began in 1988 as an effort to acknowledge the tremendous contributions of foster parents and foster families around the country. In the 1990’s, National Foster Care Month evolved and brought into sharp focus the needs of the many older youth in foster care, particularly those on the verge of ‘aging out’ of the foster care system at the age of 18. With this focus and the strong leadership of several foster care advocacy groups, the passage of the Chafee Foster Care Independence Act was eventually achieved, providing additional support to young people aging out of care.

There are currently over 496,000 children in foster care in the United States. Bay Area Youth Centers (BAYC), the East Bay division of Sunny Hills, works with youth ages 14-24 who are emancipating from the foster care system. BAYC’s programs are designed to support successful transitions to adulthood by helping young people to develop positive relationships, healthy lifestyles, independent living skills, and the achievement of educational goals. BAYC provides housing assistance, integrated mental health services and a healthy dose of adult encouragement to ensure these youth have the opportunity they deserve to reach their full potential.

I invite you to read about Annahlisa, a foster youth who has been helped by several of our BAYC programs. I hope that her story will inspire you to click here to find Foster Care Month events around the country that you can participate in!