Helping the Elderly and Youth Aging Out of Foster Care at the Same Time

According to the Newark Advocate, a Granville, Ohio based business recently shared about their partnership with the organization “Fostering Further” where they assist both the elderly as well as youth who are aging out of the foster care system. Within the system they created, they help seniors downsize their homes and donate their unwanted household items and furniture to youth who are aging out of the system who could use them in their own apartments. This helps both the elderly feel that they’re contributing to a good cause as well as the young people exiting the foster care system feel like they have some sort of preparedness for their new homes.

The National Hispanic Council of Aging reports that “a study by the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine found that the overall prevalence of hoarding behavior is around 4%, but this number increases to 6.2% in people over the age of 55.” The article goes on to share that as a person ages, they tend to hold on to more items as they struggle maintaining a consistent social life outside of their homes. In some cases, though, it’s simply an accumulation of items they no longer find a use for that are now getting in the way of them living an easy and simple life. Regardless of the nature of the circumstances, the Granville-based business, “Songbird Transitions,” assists the elderly in situations like these where they find themselves moving to a smaller space or simply needing help with the space they have. The business comes in and helps older individuals sort through their belongings and organizes them into what is appropriate to keep, and what would be better off donated.

Following Songbird Transitions’ work with the elderly, “Fostering Further” – an organization that aims to create healthy, supportive relationships between community members and those involved in foster care – then accepts these donations and offers them to youth who are going from foster care to being on their own. "These kids have nothing when they age out of foster care and are setting up their own place. We have tried to provide some kind of help as far as furnishings for an apartment," shared Yvonne Williams of Fostering Further.

Central Ohio seems to be on the right track with these programs, and what they’re doing for both the elderly and youth exiting foster care should be seen as an example for other states. According to Finally Family Homes, nearly 4,000 kids age out of the foster care system every year in California alone — 24,000 nationally. To follow in the footsteps of Songbird Transitions and Fostering Further would be immensely beneficial for the crisis happening with older foster youth in our country. A step in the right direction could be when you find yourself with furniture, clothes, or other household items you’re thinking of donating, consider going to your local DCFS office and asking if there are any aging-out foster youth who could use the donations.