HUD Foster Youth to Independence Participants in Birmingham Receive Housewarming Gifts

Making a house a home requires filling up the new space with some household essentials. Recently Alabama U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Field Office officials along with Housing Authority of Birmingham District (HABD) staff, and Board of Commissioners provided five participants of the HUD Foster Youth to Independence(FYI) initiative with a housewarming gift basket. Two FYI participants were able to make the presentation and expressed their gratitude for the program and gift basket. HUD's FYI initiative targets housing assistance and supportive services for youth aging out of foster care.

The gift baskets consisted of toiletries, eating utensils, kitchen appliances, and bath towels that were voluntarily donated by members of the Alabama HUD Field Office to express support for the initiative and the participants as they transition to their new residence.

"Twenty thousand people age out of the foster system every year and this HUD initiative really provides necessary support for foster care youth in Alabama," said Kenneth Free, Alabama Field Office Director.

"The FYI program has been very successful because we're working with partners who share the same passion to assist foster care youth with attaining independence and self-sufficiency. I would like to congratulate Mrs. Kangri Drake and her team in HABD's Assisted Housing/Section 8 Department for their persistent effort working with individuals who are potentially facing homelessness and helping them to secure a place to call their own, and following up with those individuals to ensure they have the necessary support services along the way to thrive," Dontrelle Young-Foster, HABD's Interim President/CEO. She added that HABD has successfully housed 5 foster care youth with several more in the pipeline.

The initiative allows for public housing authorities to receive an allocation of tenant protection vouchers to serve youth under the age of 25 with a history of child welfare involvement or on the brink of homelessness. In February 2020, HABD was proud and honored to house the very first FYI recipient in the state. Both recipients expressed their gratitude for the gifts.

In attendance were Alabama HUD Field Office officials, HABD staff, HADB Board of Commissioners, and FYI families.