UFC Housing Programs
With the proper support and guidance, a job and a place to live, former foster youth can make a successful transition to adulthood.
It doesn’t happen magically when they turn 18. However, we have a unique opportunity and, in fact, a responsibility to provide foster youth ages 18-23 with the support that will allow them to prepare for independence. In Pathways, we do this by surrounding them with positive role models, creating enduring relationships, challenging them to better themselves and providing them with the safety net of a service-enriched transitional living program.
Alumni Program
UFC has found the most effective way of making a true difference in the lives of foster youth is by developing long-term meaningful relationships that serve as a source of consistent support.
Pathways' Alumni Program is an important and unique continuation of our initial investment in the youth we serve who may experience difficulties in the years after they leave transitional housing and can benefit from varying forms of financial and personal support.
Are you an alumni of UFC's Pathways Program? Find out how we can help you.>
ALUMNI SERVICES
UFC staff continue to help Pathways Program graduates by providing ongoing assistance through advocacy counseling, career development and job placement services, educational and vocational counseling and emergency rental assistance. All residents are eligible for monetary exit assistance when transitioning out of the program to pay for a security deposit or down payment and can access emergency funds when an unexpected hardship occurs that will negatively affect their ability to survive independently.
AIT (ADVANCED INDEPENDENCE TRAINING)
Successful program participants can participate in the AIT housing component of Pathways. AIT recipients meet with their Advocacy Counselor once a month, participate in life skills activities and Pathways activities. AIT participants also receive rental assistance equal to 50% of their monthly rent, for a maximum of six months.
HOUSING SERVICES
UFC works directly with program alumni to assist them in locating permanent and affordable housing in the Los Angeles area by providing assessment, information and options about affordable housing, referrals to other rental assistance programs, inter-agency referrals for career and educational development, and follow-up services.
Through a partnership with the Abode LA Community Design Center in the Dominguez Hills/Inglewood area, UFC is committed to providing permanent affordable housing for graduates of the Pathways Program.
ALUMNI EVENTS
Our alumni events are key to maintaining relationships and reconnecting with our Pathways alumni.
- Alumni Career Dinners are a valuable resource to participants, and create opportunities for Pathways staff to continue the mentoring relationship with alumni, assisting them with their career goals.
- Alumni Summer Picnic provides a great opportunity for the youth to reconnect and encourage one another through life's ongoing challenges.
- Alumni Retreat incorporates a variety of activities including team building exercises, self-reflection activities, and workshops.
- Christmas Eve Alumni Reunion is a much anticipated celebration as an anchor event for our Pathways alumni, where the bonds forged between staff and program participants extends over many years.
Housing
UFC Outcomes
vs. General Outcomes for Foster Youth
85% of UFC active Pathways Alumni
are in stable housing
36% of foster youth
are homeless within 18 months of leaving care
67% of UFC active Pathways Alumni
are employed
51% of foster youth
are unemployed within 3 yrs of leaving care
77% Pathways Program
alumni remain in contact with UFC
Giving Back
Caring for others and giving back to the community is key to the success of our program youth.
- Pathways alumni assist with life skills classes for current program participants
- They speak on behalf of UFC at conferences and neighborhood gatherings
- Alumni represent UFC at expansion project meetings
- They volunteer each year at UFC’s College Within Reach event