Transitional Living.. Naples Daily News Article

Transitional Living Article in Naples Daily News July 6,2010

PHOTOS Step forward: Lee program gives former foster girls a place to live on their own
By KATY BISHOP
Monday, July 5, 2010

FORT MYERS — When Jerricka Stewart unlocks the door it still shocks her sometimes.
She has a home.
Jerricka is one of the first former foster children to move into a transitional living house in Fort Myers purchased by Footsteps to the Future, a foster girls mentoring group.
It’s just a house. But for Jerricka and her roommate, it’s a safe, affordable place to live — something many foster kids can’t find after they age out of the system at 18. It’s not a permanent place, but rather a place for them to learn the basics: How to pay utility bills, make a budget, open a checking account, get a reliable job, purchase car insurance.
Before she turned 18, Jerricka had a new plan every week, she said, sitting on the sofa in the living room with its walls freshly painted white, but still blank. New dishes are stacked on the counter, not yet put away in the cabinets.
She wanted to go to college in Sarasota or Orlando or Tampa, she said. She wanted an apartment, but wasn’t really making concrete plans.
“I knew 18 was approaching,” she said. “But I was ignoring the fact that I was going to be on my own.”
But now that she’s 18, Jerricka has a plan and her last few weeks have been filled with firsts. The first bathroom she doesn’t have to share. The first grocery trip where she could buy what she wanted with her own money. Checking and savings accounts. A monthly budget. A debit card.
It could be overwhelming, but she has a lot of help.
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On a recent weekday afternoon, Jerricka and her Footsteps to the Future mentor Andrea Perisho climbed into Perisho’s van for an afternoon of errands. They chatted for a minute about their plans: A meeting with Jerricka’s caseworker, a second-round job interview at Denny’s and a stop at the bank to make a withdrawal.
Perisho, 56, has been Jerricka’s mentor since late May, and since then, she’s stepped into a role that’s part mother, part grandmother, she said. The group pairs older, female mentors with teenage foster girls, ideally well before they turn 18 and leave the foster care system. And now, the group also has this transitional living program — which Jerricka is a part of — and its first house.
“Don’t forget, you have to check your Social Security number on the Denny’s job application,” Perisho said as she pulls out of the driveway.
“Yes, I have to change it, I put two of the numbers down wrong,” Jerricka said.
Then her new, hot pink phone buzzes and she flips it open, laughing at what she reads. It’s a text from Casey Browning, 23, her new roommate at the Footsteps transitional living house, she said, before turning back, thumbs working quickly on the phone’s keyboard.
After a short car ride, Jerricka and Perisho get out of the van and go to meet with Jerricka’s caseworker. In the small, brightly painted office the caseworker goes over a survey Jerricka has to fill out periodically.
Has she had any job training? No. Has she ever had a job? No. Is she on probation? No. Does she have her own transportation? No.
They talk about the check she gets each month from the government, where and when it is deposited. To get it, she’s required to meet certain conditions, including going to school.
“That check comes early, so you can pay all your bills for the next month,” the caseworker says. “So you can pay your rent on time.”
Jerricka nods.
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Jerricka isn’t sure how old she was the first time she landed in foster care. Younger than 5, she guesses. From then until age 18, she lived in dozens of foster homes and group homes. She was adopted and then put back in the system because of abuse by her adoptive parent. Now that she’s 18, it’s up to her to find a place to live and handle everything: Transportation, food, school, a job.
The transitional living house represents the fulfillment of a long-term goal, said Judi Woods, Footsteps to the Future founder. The group wants to give the girls a supportive and structured environment where they can learn how to manage their finances, study, work and grow.
“There’s only a short window of time when a person is maturing and leaving foster care that they can be molded and make the right choices to be productive,” Woods said. “We’re tired of statistics that are negative. We’re trying to keep them from being homeless. If they’re given a good environment then they’re going to have a better ability to study.”
The three major goals of the transitional living house program are education, work readiness and savings, Woods said. The house has strict rules and the girls have to sign a participation agreement. No boys, no alcohol, no drugs.
They must make a budget and stick to it. They must pay $350 a month each in rent. They must save money and provide copies of their bank statements to Footsteps, which will match up to $100 of their savings each month, Woods said.
“It’s not just about a place to live,” she said. “They pay rent because they need to know how to pay rent. ... They are in charge of their own accounts, but we require on a monthly basis to monitor and help them budget their money. ... All of that is a process and we take it pretty seriously. If they don’t conform with the rules they could be asked to leave. They have three strikes.”
The group also provides access to a life coach and a counselor who is a certified trauma resolution specialist. It costs the nonprofit group $5,000 to $6,000 per girl per year for the transitional living program, including the services and savings-match program, and the group depends on donations, Woods said.
“We believe they can make positive choices if they’re encouraged and they’re given the right direction to follow,” she said. “This program isn’t for everybody. It’s for young women who really want to change their lives.”
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Back in Fort Myers in Perisho’s van, she and Jerricka are on their way to Denny’s for Jerricka’s second job interview. They take the long way so they can follow the bus route that Jerricka would have to take if she gets the job, locating the bus stop, and also the sidewalks along the way to the restaurant.
At Denny’s, Jerricka asks Perisho to park on the side, not in front — she’s embarrassed, and though she denies it, maybe a little nervous for her interview. She’s not crazy about the half-mile walk from the bus stop to the restaurant, but she really wants a job, she said. She needs to buy car insurance for a car that’s being donated to her.
Ten minutes later, Jerricka and Perisho emerge from Denny’s. Jerricka laughs and Perisho smiles.
Jerricka got the job. And yes, it was embarrassing, she said, but she’s excited. It’s her first job.