Hannah was in her freshman year at college when things around her
began to crumble.
A relationship ended terribly and forced her to find a place to live.
Then, a friend who’d agreed to take her in unexpectedly changed her
mind. Now she had no place to go and no options.
She was working in a program at her college to help underprivileged
students. One of the staff members told her about Youth Villages’
transitional living program. Mindy Bowman became her TL specialist.
“I didn’t know what to expect when we met,” Hannah said. “I just sat
and listened.”
Mindy, who’s been a TL specialist for nearly a year, said Hannah was
one of her first youth to help.
“She is amazing,” Mindy said. “We would sit together and talk and
she was willing to open up about what was going on. She’d already
accomplished a lot before I began working with her, but at the time we
met, she was taking on more than she could handle.”
Hannah left her mother’s home at 12 and went to live with her
grandmother, then lived with her aunt and uncle. After moving, she thrived
in school. Then her mother, who abused drugs and alcohol, passed away.
Living off campus while in college, she became stressed about money.
“Then my relationship went bad and I had to find a place to live,” she said.
She applied and became a YV scholar, a program where TL participants
THROUGH TL, HANNAH’S ABLE TO KEEP THINGS IN PERSPECTIVE
Hannah, right, with Youth Villages Clinical Supervisor Mindy Bowman
Continued on next page
KEY INDICATORS
93%
87%
79%
www.YouthVillages.org
200 175 225 Youth Villages
helps more than
600 youth in the
TL program
every day.
805 Number of youth helped by TL
program so far this fiscal year
71%
TRANSITIONAL LIVINGJuly to September 2014 Tennessee ReportFirst Quarter of Fiscal Year 2015
IN SCHOOL OR GRADUATED
EMPLOYED OR SEEKING EMPLOYMENT
LIVING WITH FAMILYOR INDEPENDENTLY
NO INVOLVEMENT WITH THE LAW
Numbers below reflect first-quarter status of youth
currently in the transitional living program.
Founded in 1986, Youth Villages is a leading national nonprofit dedicated to
providing the most effective local solutions to help emotionally and behaviorally
troubled children and their families live successfully. We help more than 22,000
children and families each year from more than 20 states and Washington, D.C.
Youth Villages’ Evidentiary Family Restoration™ approach involves intensive work
with the child and family, a focus on measuring outcomes, keeping children in the
community whenever safely possible, and providing unprecedented accountability
to families and funders.
TO MAKE A REFERRAL
Contact the nearest Youth Villages office and ask to make a referral to the TL program. You may also contact the nearest
Department of Children’s Services office and ask to speak to the local independent living specialist about TL services.
receive extra support for college provided they
maintain academic and community service
requirements. Mindy’s role was special because
setbacks affected Hannah more severely. Hannah
was very driven to succeed in school, and Mindy
helped her maintain perspective.
“Since I was little I kept the same dream,”
Hannah said. “I wanted to be the first in my family to
graduate high school with honors and go to college.”
Hannah heaped the pressure on herself.
“At times we had difficulty keeping her spirits
up,” Mindy said. “She’s a high achiever and needs
guidance on what she’s doing, to take a step back
and say, ‘Let’s get back on track toward our goals.’”
In addition, Hannah learned about healthy
relationships while seeking a more stable day-to-day
life. Her relationship with Mindy fluctuates between
mentor and friend, but everything is geared toward
Hannah reaching her academic and professional
goals. Now 20, Hannah entered the TL program later
than many, but she said it was the right time.
“I was more receptive to being helped than I
would have been earlier,” she said. “I was so broken
and ready for help when Mindy came into the
picture. I don’t think I would’ve done that if it had
been earlier.”
In some ways, setbacks affected Hannah more — Mindy kept her motivated
continued from previous page
All contents ©2015 by Youth Villages, Inc.
with all rights reserved. Youth Villages is accredited by the Joint Commission.
www.youthvillages.org
“OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH YOUTH VILLAGES IS EXTREMELY VALUABLE. YOUTH VILLAGES STRIVES TO ASSIST EVERY YOUNG ADULT THAT IS REFERRED TO THE TRANSITIONAL LIVING PROGRAM. DCS AND YV HAVE A COMMITMENT TO ENSURE THAT YOUNG ADULTS ARE PROVIDED THE ASSISTANCE THEY NEED TO BE SUCCESSFUL AFTER 18, EVEN IF THEY DON’T ACCEPT THE EXTENSION OF FOSTER CARE SERVICES. WITHOUT THESE SERVICES, WE WOULD HAVE A SERVICE GAP AND MORE YOUNG ADULTS STRUGGLING TO TRANSITION TO ADULTHOOD — POSSIBLY COSTING THE STATE MORE MONEY IN LOST WAGES, INCARCERATION, HOMELESSNESS AND GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE.”
Tennessee DCS Independent Living
Youth Engagement Leader Ginger Harris
The first results from a randomized study of
Youth Villages’ transitional living services point
toward a valid evaluation of the program, said
Michelle Manno, research associate with MDRC,
the national social research agency conducting the
study.
“Our report shows that the transitional living
program in Tennessee has been implemented
as we would have expected,” she said. MDRC’s
implementation and participation findings are
published in a 124-page report, Moving Into
Adulthood.
The first impact results from the study should be available in mid-2015.
Those results will show if the program is effective as compared to usual
services for former foster children in Tennessee.
The program helps youth who were formerly in foster care or the juvenile
justice system or who otherwise find themselves unprepared for adult life
and need help making the transition to adulthood.
TL STUDY CONCLUDES WITH FAVORABLE OUTLOOK
moving into adulthood
IMPLEMENTATION
FINDINGS FROM
THE YOUTH VILLAGES
TRANSITIONAL LIVING
EVALUATION
Michelle MannoErin JacobsJulianna AlsonMelanie Skemer
March 2014
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