ANGEL REACH
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Mission Statement
Welcome to Angel Reach! Angel Reach's mission is to break the generational cycle of abuse, neglect, and homelessness by equipping aged-out foster youth and homeless youth to live independently as well as providing critical services and support to relatives doing their best to keep children out of the foster care system. Angel Reach has been dedicated to the continued development of programs that prevent homelessness for foster care alumni since 2004. The focus has been on three client types: 1) Kinship Program – children removed from neglect or abuse to live with a relative, 2) Aged-out Foster Youth Transitional Living Program – youth who aged-out of foster care that are homeless or at risk of being homeless, 3) At Risk Homeless Youth - youth who are at-risk for homeless between the ages of 16 and 24
About This Cause
Angel Reach is a faith-based nonprofit organization that works with youth who have aged out of the foster care system, as well as those who are at risk of homeless between the ages of 16 and 24. Many of these youth are lost, forced to survive on their own, alone and with no place to live. Angel Reach provides the support they need in finding their way to becoming emotionally stable and financially independent. Additionally, Angel Reach serves as a ministry that supports families who care for children removed from their homes by Child Protective Services. Our goal is to nurture these youth and equip them for productive and meaningful futures. Services provided to our youth and families include guidance on goals for employment and education; basic needs (food, clothes, furniture) counseling; mentoring and a tiered housing program. Transitional Living Program Angel Reach Transitional Living Program (TLP) was started in 2008 to provide support for youth between the ages of 18 and 24 who have aged out of the Foster Care System. In addition to housing, the Transitional Living Program provides free counseling, assistance with obtaining ID’s (i.e., Social Security card, birth certificate, Texas photo ID), enrollment in high school and/or trade school or college courses, Employment service, Life skills classes, drivers education, car purchase program, transportation services, budget advising and mentor programs are provided. In 2015, these services were expanded to include homeless youth between the ages of 16 and 24. Because these young people have suffered from the effects of abuse and neglect, they struggle to live independently, and many of these youth end up in unhealthy places, both physically and emotionally. The statistics for these transitioned youth are startling: 50% of all youth who have aged out of the foster care system end up homeless, 27% end up in jail and 67% end up addicted to drugs or alcohol. To assist the youth with overcoming these odds and repairing the emotional scars of abuse and neglect at all levels, counseling is encouraged. As each foster youth advances through our three program levels, life skills advance to prepare the youth to be productive members of society. TLP is a teaching program that not only addresses the basic needs of an individual, but also teaches character values such as honesty, respect, self-worth, and accountability. All individuals in the TLP program have access to all Community Youth Outreach programs and services. Community Youth Outreach The Community Youth Outreach (CYO) collaborative initiative was designed to meet the needs of youth between the ages of 16-24 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness in Montgomery County, Texas. The goal is to engage, empower and support these youth to gain the skills and experience to become self-sufficient adults. The CYO is a Resource Center where the youth can come to receive basic needs services; plan their path to self-sufficiency with the help of qualified Social Workers (called youth Coaches) and be connected with the support services primarily provided by Angel Reach. The support services provided include: • youth advocacy/case management; • professional counseling with an emphasis on trauma resolution; • financial planning; • education/employment planning, support and employment preparation; • computer lab access; • GED prep classes; • supportive housing via transitional housing; • daily meals for housed clients (breakfast, lunch and dinner); • showers; • mail; • emergency supplies; • driver’s education; • car ownership readiness and purchasing program; • transportation to school, work, job interviews and medical appointments • free bus passes; • Life skills classes; • benefits navigation (Medicaid, SNAP, TANF, etc.,) • access to other community resources The CYO is designed as a single, safe place where youth can come to have their basic needs met and to receive guidance through the change process until they are ready to plan their future and have the motivation to execute their plans. Kinship Program Angel Reach was founded as a ministry to serve Kinship families, extended families who care for relatives children, who are removed from their homes by CPS due to neglect and/or abuse by their primary caregivers. Angel Reach’s mission is to maintain the family connection by providing support and guidance for these extended family members. This is accomplished by meeting both the physiological needs of food and clothing assistance, placement housing needs, document filing, and retrieval, and life enrichment needs through mentors, tutors, GED training, and much more. The Angel Reach Kinship program provides support and services that will sustain a kinship family from the beginning stages of care through the foster children’s independence stage, all while they are placed into the care of a guardian that usually has a familial connection to them. Most of the caregivers are retired and living on fixed incomes, usually social security. They need immediate guidance in obtaining legal documents such as birth certificates and school records, or signing up for food stamps, placing the children into health care systems, understanding legal ramification explanations, associating with CASA, handling tax changes and adapting to current school programs and rules. These often familiar tasks are overwhelming under normal circumstances for one child, but most of these kinship families often have two or three siblings to take care of immediately. The Kinship program provides not only physical aid but also the calmness of a Kinship counselor who assures them that Angel Reach will be present for the longterm to provide the support they need while also setting up a plan for services. Angel Reach provides items such as car seats, beds, clothes, food and a lifeline of assisted services to the community and the well-being of the new caregiver.