Tom Corson shared with us a fantastic foster youth program with us called The Dream Center. When the Kern County Network for Children (KCNC) first formed in 1992, one of their missions was to help the aged out foster youth of Kern County. The concept was a Coffee House where foster youth could come and hang out and receive support. They found that the last thing foster youth wanted to be around were random adults drinking coffee. So they reorganized and tried again. Utilizing the left-behind Lightspeed gym and spa building, they reformatted the Dream Center into a collaborative resource center specifically for foster youth, many of which are homeless.
Working together with community partners created an innovative resource center for foster youth that serves as an easily accessible, inviting hub for comprehensive, integrated services and unique job training.
The Dream Center assists current and former foster youth transition to independence and self-sufficiency. Services utilize a formal case management system, with co-located staff from Kern County Probation, Kern County Mental Health, Bakersfield College and their Department of Human Services Independent Living Program on-site and available to reduce the duplication of services and increase service accessibility for youth.
It also includes a clothing bank, showers, laundry room, cooking classes, free snack and a safe environment for troubled youth to hang out.
Since they are not beholden to any one specific government agency (but do benefit from government freebies) they can think and work outside of the box.
One of the Center's success stories, by the name of Isaiah shared a little bit about his path. The take away message of his was, if an opportunity to advance yourself presents itself, TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT!
He was born into an extremely disadvantaged family. His father was murdered. His mother went to jail for attempted murder and eventually he was placed in a foster home. Once he turned 18 he was essentially turned out to fend for himself. He was extremely introverted when he first came to the Dream Center. But after a couple of years, he's got a steady job and drops by everyday to help out, or as he puts it, give back.
When a foster youth emancipates, they often have very little when they move into their first home. The Dream Center helps ease the transition by providing youth with donated school supplies, personal hygiene items, and baby items. If you are interested in please contact Sara Espinoza @ 661-636-4925.
Visitors
Toni Doherty guest of Joe Hay.