Every day we serve at-risk youth. Some live in shelters, some in group homes, some are returning from delinquency, and some are homeless.

This Education Center will cater exclusively to the needs of teens in foster care as we believe they are among the most vulnerable of populations in the country.

Each year in Florida, thousands of teenagers enter the foster care system because they were living in unsupervised, high-risk environments, or they were victims of abuse, neglect or abandonment. They’ll have to make their own way in life because the odds of a teen being fostered or adopted are very slim.

When you consider the behavioral challenges brought on by the emotional, physical, sexual, or psychological trauma that many have suffered at the hands of people that were supposed to love and protect them, their odds drop even more. Trauma can create a toxic state of mind, body and soul, and over time, can erode their mental and physical health. For many, their well-being will shatter along with any hope of living a happy, healthy, or stable life.

That’s when they become vulnerable to negative outcomes. Many will resort to a life on the streets and get lured into the sex trade or join gangs to fit in and feel a sense of family and belonging. Many will turn to stealing or committing crimes to survive, drink alcohol, take drugs or cause harm to themselves and others to cope with their pain, trauma, and PTSD.

We, as a community can’t let this happen. While they may look like teens on the outside, they’re still children on the inside who haven’t been loved, properly reared, or shown the way to go. They’ve been robbed of their youth and are left with no alternative but to do whatever it takes to survive. They desperately need love, healing, education, direction, and a plan.

Big Children's Foundation is driven to prevent these outcomes.

We’re on a mission to open the doors of our new Education Center and deliver services to teens in foster care that will help them heal; and education, skills and professional development that will help them live happy, self-sufficient, and successful lives. We’re determined to change their life trajectory and reshape their futures.

Will you join us and be part of the solution?