The mission of Roots and Wings is to provide motivated young adults who age out of the foster care system of New Jersey with safe housing, education, counseling, and life skills in order to empower them towards self-sufficiency.
Remember turning 18? Maybe heading off to college or starting a new job? Now imagine attempting these milestones without the support of your family -- without parents to encourage, guide, and come home to. This is the reality for 600 - 800 young adults in New Jersey exiting foster care every single year. They struggle to navigate alone in a world in which they are ill-equipped to thrive. Study after study shows these young adults are at extremely high risk for unemployment, poor educational outcomes, early parenthood, increased rates of incarceration and homelessness. Only 27% of aged out foster youth either complete high school or obtain a GED and only 6% graduate from college.
Many of the young people that we serve have lived in over 15 foster homes within the first 18 years of their lives. Several have lived in more than 20 foster homes, that is more than one foster home per year! That is just not acceptable to us. Roots and Wings is an organization that provides safe and stable housing, so that our clients can begin to heal from years of trauma, begin to figure out who they are, and take the next steps in becoming truly self-sufficient.
You can make a difference with us! Our model works -- we have the outcomes to prove it -- and we couldn't do it without volunteers. Please consider applying to join our amazing board and collaborate with a strong, dynamic group of staff members completely dedicated to helping our clients achieve their goals!
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