We Are LA Foster Youth

Critical care services for young adults aging out of the extended foster care system.

An average of 1 out of ever 4 youth in foster care will become homeless within 4 years of aging out of foster care.

We Are LA Foster Youth provides critically needed access to benefits, employment, and housing for 20 year olds aging out of the extended foster care system in order to prevent homelessness, provide stability, and enhance well-being among Los Angeles’ most vulnerable youth. Partnering with the Children’s Law Center of California and the RightWay Foundation, we fill the critical gap between foster care and independent adulthood.

Serving LA’s Most Vulnerable Young Adults

Every month, approximately 60 young people age out of foster care in Los Angeles. While their peers have family support, foster youth face adulthood alone—often managing significant trauma. They experience post-traumatic stress disorder at nearly five times the rate of the general population (21.5% vs. 4.5%), exceeding even U.S. veterans. Without family or safety nets, they face housing insecurity, unemployment, and isolation. At an age when their peers are focused on college applications and first jobs, foster youth often confront basic survival questions from where they will sleep to who will help them stay safe and on track.

The Mayor’s Fund for LA is addressing this need among some of the city’s most challenged youth. Together—with partners, donors, and advocates—we are creating pathways to possibility. From access to housing and mental health care to education, career training, and mentorship, where every foster youth has access to opportunities just as their peers.

“Leaving foster care is hard. Being in foster care is hard, too. It doesn’t prepare you to live on your own. What we’re doing here is so important: helping young people find housing, jobs, and the other assistance they need to move into stable, healthy adult lives.”

—Annissa, former foster youth who experienced homelessness

Key Program Offerings

Housing

Connecting young adults aging out of the foster system with stable housing.

Resources

Screening and connection to programs foster youth already qualify for, including CalFresh, Medi-Cal, and mental health and substance abuse supports.

Employment

Connecting young adults aging out of the foster care system to stable housing.