TLF SUMMER UPDATE

The Launch Pad: 

For various reasons, one of the Launch Pad residents was having a hard time connecting with her new roommates. She was questioning whether or not she could relate to any of them because she felt like they were further along in their ability to be independent than she was. 

Overtime, she has connected with her roommates and learned they have more in common than she thought. They have shown her support and care when situations arose, and showed her a very different community and care than she had ever experienced by her peers in group homes she was placed in before joining the Launch Pad. 

This was a huge victory. This resident is now realizing that she is more than capable of moving forward and achieving goals she thought might not have been for her.

For more information on the Launch Pad program, click here. 

Mentoring: 

A mentor recently began encouraging her mentee to write things that she is grateful for in a journal. The mentor got her a journal just for this purpose, and wants her to learn to focus on the positives in life, rather than just the negatives. For youths with various traumas and stories, it can be difficult to walk through life and see the beautiful things that most people take advantage of. With triggers and memories, past hurts and pains, it’s easy to be caught up in the memories of negative experiences. This is a great way to teach anyone— foster youth, teenagers, and adults alike—that gratitude can change perspective and experience. 

For more information on becoming a TLF mentor, click here.

The Network: 

Anxiety and trauma are normal occurrences for foster youth. One teen recently shared her experience as being so debilitating that she can’t work, go to school, or make friends. She was facing large and real fears.

In situations like this, The Network is a game-changer. This youth was able to do practice interviews with a local hiring professional. She was able to practice her ability to converse and relate to someone in a position of professional authority, and receive positive feedback. In her own words, “I didn’t believe it, but I was told I did an amazing job at my mock interview. The woman who held the interview said she’d hire me! Which is craaaazzzy to me!”

“I didn’t believe it, but I was told I did an amazing job at my mock interview. The woman who held the interview said she’d hire me! Which is craaaazzzy to me!”

The Network connects youth with employment skills. Teens transitioning though foster care are now able able to walk into a real interview with confidence and strengths.

For more information on the Network, click here.