Dream Makers Project - serving former foster youth

Every year, 23,000+ teenagers age out of foster care at 18 years old without a family to help them transition into adulthood.Not only did these youth enter foster care due to experiencing neglect, abuse, or abandonment, but they are now left to fend for themselves during a pivotal time in life. With virtually no support system, many struggle daily to survive.

Our team is a small group of individuals who view James 1:27 as a personal mandate and care deeply about caring for the fatherless by supporting former foster youths. Over the last five years, we have raised over $1.9 million to serve thousands of youth across 41 states. We are grateful to report that we have never had a single dream go unfulfilled. 

What does aging out mean? 

Teens who were not reunited with their biological family and did not get adopted by another family are considered adults on their 18th birthday, expected to survive alone. As a result, these youth are more like­ly to expe­ri­ence behav­ioral, men­tal and phys­i­cal health issues, hous­ing prob­lems and home­less­ness, employ­ment and aca­d­e­m­ic dif­fi­cul­ties, ear­ly par­ent­hood, incar­cer­a­tion, and oth­er poten­tial­ly life­long adver­si­ties.

At Dream Makers, we have the privilege of seeing how meeting crisis needs and coming alongside these youth to fulfill their dreams can have a positive impact in their lives. When these youth receive support, they are reminded that they are seen, cared for, and that their stories matter.

Every act of care matters. If you want to know how to help foster kids, we invite you to consider the population of aged-out foster youth who don’t know where to turn.

The Statistics of Aging Out:

• 1 in 5 become homeless within a year.
• 50% of the homeless population are former foster youth.
• 60% of sex trafficking victims spent time in foster care.
• 71% of young women who age out become pregnant by 21. 
• At age 26, only half are employed.
• One in four will become involved in the juvenile justice system within two years after leaving foster care.
• Less than 3% of youth who have aged out of foster care earn a college degree. Despite all of the challenges, 70% of foster youth say that they would like to attend college one day.
• 25% of youth who age out deal with PTSD.
• 50% of former foster youth struggle with substance abuse.

Many of the problems plaguing our culture today: homelessness, sex trafficking, prison, and poverty, are symptoms of the statistics above. Our goal is to go upstream and help support aged-out foster youth so that they can thrive and succeed in their lives. Together, we can remove the barriers standing in the way of these youth by supporting their financial stability, encouraging life skills, and developing job skills.