Let It Be Us Joins the Aging Out Institute Community

Let It Be Us is happy to announce that the organization has become an official member of the Aging Out Institute Community. This affiliation will open up numerous avenues for collaboration and networking with organizations dedicated to supporting youth transitioning out of foster care. Their emphasis on six key initiatives – measuring success, wellness, relationships, housing, employment, and education – is a clear testament to the comprehensive approach taken by both Let It Be Us and the Aging Out Institute in ensuring the well-being and success of these young individuals.

The Let It Be Us Springboard to Adulthood Program, through its participation in this Aging Out Institute Community, stands poised to make a positive impact on the lives of those it serves. The potential for collaboration underscores the importance of collective efforts in this critical endeavor.  The Program is managed by Kendra Wright. Kendra has experience caring for young people within foster care and those aging out of foster care. 

“The greater our knowledge increases, the greater the impact. I’m overjoyed to be able to network with other organizations that work directly with those who have aged out of foster care. This enables us to increase our use of materials and resources that more accurately represent the requirements of the people we serve,” Wright stated.

The Let It Be Us Springboard to Adulthood Program fills a significant gap for young people in foster care who are at risk of aging out of the system without a family or permanent support system. Let It Be Us strongly believes, as does the Aging Out Institute Community, that all young people deserve and need support as teenagers and young adults to successfully launch into adulthood. “At Let It Be Us we are forging partnerships with organizations that allow us to leverage our strength and bring more, and bring more faster, to the vulnerable young people we serve,” says Susan McConnell, Founder and Executive Director of Let It Be Us. “Kendra Wright and our whole team are excited to see all that this partnership can bring to the young people in our Springboard to Adulthood Program.” 

National research shows that children who age out of the foster care system without a robust support system are much more likely to become homeless and much less likely to continue schooling. According to research by the University of Chicago’s Chapin Hall, 45% of the girls will become pregnant by the age of 19 and a large percentage of the boys will be imprisoned. Only 37% of the young people in Illinois foster care obtain a high school degree.  Across the country, that statistic is 50%.  And overall just 3% get to college. These young people also earn less than half of their peers as young adults, making a successful launch into adulthood nearly impossible.

Let It Be Us knows that many children aging out of foster care have big dreams.  Dreams to go to college, dreams to have meaningful careers, dreams to have a family and a stable support network.  We started Springboard to Adulthood to help young people aging out of foster care who have these dreams.  Please fill out this form if you have a young person to refer to this program. To learn more about the Program please contact Kendra Wright at kendrawright@letitbeus.org. 

For more information about the Aging Out Institute and the AOI community, please visit their website here. This is an exciting step forward, and the partnership between Let It Be Us and the Aging Out Institute Community is vital to this cause.