The Kierrah Foundation

 To Encourage, Educate & Empower

 Former Foster Girls

Every year thousands for young people "age-out" of the foster care system.  While most 18 year olds in our country are looking forward to going to college, starting a first job or getting their first apartment, these young people are entering adulthood looking for food and a place to sleep for the night.  A large percentage of this young people who are aging-out of the foster care system onto the streets are women.  Research shows that girls that age-out of foster care are the most vulnerable to domestic violence, prostitution, substance abuse and suicide.  These young women enter aduthood wounded, dispirited and brokenhearted.  Being on the streets without anyone to turn to and the uncertainties that follow is a scary scenario to even the best of us.  Can you imagine the terror and the anxiety that these young women go through day after day, night after night?  Have you thought about what happens to someone who is homeless on the streets without the basic life skills to survive?  That's where The Kierrah Foundation steps in........

OUR MISSION

The Kierrah Foundation was established to help young women who have been adversely affected by being placed in the foster care system.  The unique needs of these young women are underrepresented and underserved.  The Kierrah Foundation is set up to be a multilevel support system for these young women who often are estranged from adult family members and must navigate the path to adulthood alone.  The Foundation seeks to build their self-esteem and to squash the rampant self-doubt that makes these young women feel hopeless, disenfranchised and on the path to nowhere.  The Foundation also offers women a unique opportunity to share valuable life experiences with upwardly mobile individuals who can encourage them to face the challenges ahead.

OUR PURPOSE: The Kierrah Foundations purpose is to provide material, intellectual and emotional support to former foster girls with their transition from state care into early adulthood.

OUR OBJECTIVE: The Kierrah Foundations objective is to empower former foster girls to become self-sufficient and avoid the pitfalls of aging out of the system which can include poverty, homelessness, victims of domestic violence, substance abuse, prostitution, gang affiliation, aimlessness and automatic slippage into welfare and perhaps the most frightening for these young women, losing their own children to the foster care system.

OUR SERVICES: The Kierrah Foundation will provide the following services to empower former foster girls and prepare them for their journey into early adulthood.

Emergency Services: Hotel vouchers, food vouchers, clothing vouchers, phone cards, hygiene kits, bus passes/tokens and taxi vouchers.  We will also provide transportation out-of-state for those who would like to be reunited with family members.  Please note: Hotel vouchers and bus passes subject to availability.

Life Skills Workshops Customized life plans and wrap-around services that will be designed for their specific needs.  We will assist them with obtaining birth certificates, identification, drivers licenses, social security cards, school records and other important documents that are essential in everyday living.  We will also conduct budget classes, image and etiquette labs, motivational seminars, classes on renting apartments, registering for school and applying for employment.

Resources and Referrals The Foundation will help with resources and referrals for young women in crisis.  A number of professionals are on board to provide counseling for crisis intervention such as mental health issues, domestic violence, homeless prevention and many other professional services.

Educational and Cultural Outings The Foundation will sponsor educational and cultural outings on a periodic basis.  Outings might include music festivals, art exhibits, a visit to a film set or work place, a recording studio, or a cultural museum.  These outing are meant to allow the young women to experience some of what they might have missed moving from school to school or not having the money to attend school trips or events.

Kierrah Toy Project: The Kierrah Foundation hosted fun and exciting events for the children of former foster girls on all holidays, birthdays and special occasions. 

THE END RESULT

The Kierrah Foundation will do for these young women what intact families do, be the support, the eyes and ears to guide them on their journey into adulthood.  The Kierrah Foundation will produce a new population of young women equipped with not only the tools to survive but also the DESIRE TO THRIVE!!!