Why Preparing Teens for Independence Matters to Me

Looking back, I can’t help but reflect on what I was taught growing up. How prepared did I actually feel about my transition into adulthood?

I mean come on, you must learn how to budget, figure out how to apply for college (and pay for it), or just have someone remind me that I needed full cover car insurance before I could drive a new car. There’s no way I would have figured that out on my own. I can’t say I’ve figured it all out and I’ve been an adult for a while now.

My mother and father taught me and did their best to prepare me. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, even adults need a village of support to succeed. There’s no way my parents could have prepared me for everything, everybody needs help.

What about those children who don’t have support? Believe a need for support is present in our community. We have children and young adults experiencing this every day. That’s the reality for many teens in foster care or in at risk situations like diversion and probation.

Across the United States, about 20,000 young people age out of foster care every year without permanent families. Studies show that by the age of 26:

· 1 in 3 will experience homelessness at some point.

· Less than 3% will earn a college degree, compared to 40% of their peers.

· Nearly 50% will face unemployment or unstable employment.

· Many will struggle with basic skills like budgeting, applying for jobs, or accessing healthcare.

CAN YOU IMAGINE, a life where you’re trying to navigate bills, landlords, job interviews, or even just cooking healthy meals, without anybody to teach you? I’d feel very overwhelmed, and isolated. It wouldn’t be fair.

Life Launch is super important to me. We’re here to bridge a gap between children and independence. Foster youth who age out without support are more likely to become involved in the justice system. Aging out means the child is no longer under the care of a legal adult. In foster care this could mean the child must leave their foster home and enter independence. Some foster children may be adopted and still not have access to somebody who can help them apply for medical insurance or navigate the adoption

subsidy. Some teens may receive a Bridge to Independence Voucher to use towards their needs after aging out.

Foster youth face a 6x higher risk of homelessness than their peers. Programs with housing and life skills keep 90% of youth stably housed after one year. With the right supports, youth show higher rates of employment and lower poverty/homelessness rates.

Life Launch doesn’t offer housing, but the dream exists to be able to offer a transitional home for the youth in our area.

That’s why programs like Life Launch exist. Life Launch gives teens , not just in foster care, the tools, confidence, and hands-on experiences they need to prepare for independence. From financial literacy and job readiness to everyday skills like cooking and cleaning, Life Launch helps bridge the gap between childhood and adulthood. More than that, it gives them a community that believes in their potential.

I think about how different my own story would look if I didn’t have people guiding me. And then I think about how powerful it is to be part of a program that offers that same kind of guidance to young people who need it most.

When our community invests in programs like Life Launch, we’re not just preparing young adults for independence—we’re breaking cycles of poverty, homelessness, and instability. We’re showing these teens they are seen, valued, and capable of building a future they can be proud of.

By: Camery Boyd