We often hear about children who are in the foster care system. The reason why they are in foster care may differ from one person to another, but it is often due to some very trying circumstances that they are facing. Perhaps they are an orphan that didn’t have any relatives to care for them or they may have parents who are either in prison or perhaps addicted to drugs. In any case, the foster care system gives these children an opportunity to grow up in a family, even though it is not always the most stable type of care available.
One of the questions that some people may ask about children in the foster care system is what happens whenever they are old enough that they age out of the system. That is something that Pivot Inc. was also asking, and they decided they would do something about the answer. They came to find out that these teenagers who aged out of the foster care system were often without many options. That is when they decided to build some tiny homes behind their offices to give those teenagers the opportunity to work their way into society gradually.
One of the teenagers who took advantage of this program is Carter. His mother died when he was 10 years old and his father is in prison, but Carter has been sleeping on a couch in foster care for many years. It led to some back problems, so he is happy to be sleeping in a bed and learning how to work his way into society.
The tiny homes are free for the first two months and then the rent increases gradually for the next few months up until six months, where it stays the same. The children can stay as long as they like to get on their feet but the hope is that eventually, they will be able to get out on their own and live independent lives. You can see more about it in the following video:
Source: Spotlight Stories