A Kid’s Place has been helping children who are in foster care since 2009. The center provides a safe, loving and nurturing home for foster children. Its vision is to create, implement and sustain a program which raises the standard of residential care for foster children. It allows sibling groups to stay together as they begin to heal from the trauma they’ve endured.
This past January, A Kid’s Place opened the doors of its first extended stay homes for teens and young adults who have aged out of foster care.
“Our extended foster care home is for youth ages 18-22 who have aged out of care,” said A Kid’s Place’s development director, Samantha Mellen. “We expanded services in 2020 with a home for young ladies and this second home will be for young men aging out of foster care. We recently finished our updates; it has been completely renovated inside with new flooring, paint, kitchen, bathrooms and a new roof.”
The new home will serve young men aging out of foster care from A Kid’s Place or Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco counties.
“We have a dedicated independent lining coordinator that will assist them as they focus on the next phase of their life be it work, trade, college or military in a safe and stable environment,” Mellen said.
Once a child turns 18, they are considered to be ‘aged out’ of the foster care system. What happens next for them isn’t always so hopeful and clear. That’s why A Kid’s Place is proud to offer its unique Extended Foster Care services.
“We renovated the home with the help of grants from several community partners that are passionate about helping youth aging out of care,” Mellen said. “As of now, two young men who were residing at A Kid’s Place, they both recently turned 18 and now are living in the home. We can have up to four young men living in the home.”
Mellen and the team at A Kid’s Place want children who have aged out of foster care to know they are there to help them.
“We want them to know that they are not alone during this next phase of adulthood and will have the opportunity to learn the responsibilities that goes with becoming an adult in a safe place,” Mellen said. “Each young man will realize they can take their time exploring the path that is best for them.”
A Kid’s Place’s next project will be to break ground on a new 12,000-square-foot activity center in March that will provide more space, classrooms and opportunities to better serve the children in its care.
If you would like to learn more about A Kid’s Place or donate to it, you can visit its website at https://akidsplacetb.org/ or call 813-381-3839. A Kid’s Place is located at 1715 Lithia Pinecrest Rd. in Brandon.
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