Story
"What do you do when you never had a home to go back to?" Alex* asked.
Alex was 6 years old when he entered the foster care system and spent the next 13 years in foster care. That care ended two years ago. He was 19. Alex shuffled between seven different foster homes before he aged out of the system, and it happens to more than 1,000 Texas teenagers every year.
Although many foster children leave foster care at the physical age of 18, the result of the trauma they have endured usually leaves unprepared to transition into adulthood, with life skills reflective of a much younger age. These at-risk youth are in need of guidance and support. The reality is that there are a lot of benefits that our youth are eligible for but are unaware of.
Alex left the foster care system without guardians, without a social security card or birth certificate. There was no job training and zero information about the organizations or government assistance he was supposed to have access to after being an orphan.
Would you join Agape Ranch to support vulnerable youth like Alex? As a local 501(c)3 charitable organization, Agape Ranch works in the areas of prevention, foster care, adoption and aging out youth mentorship. Through the Ranch, a 24-home neighborhood right here in the Coastal Bend, Agape Ranch will provide a safe environment for foster children and aging out foster youth.
*The names and details of the story have been changed to protect the identity of the individual which is represents.