A SENSE OF HOME
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Mission Statement
A Sense of Home is a community based solution, coordinating compassionate volunteers to utilize donated furniture to make an aged-out foster youth’s first permanent living space feel like HOME. Having never felt like they belonged in a home, their new inspired space is an opportunity for the youth to finally belong in the world and a foundation from which they can build a healthy new beginning. This remarkably simple concept, being implemented and lead by former foster youth staff (and recipients of the program) is profoundly impactful for a multitude of principles.Science has proven that the state of one’s “home” affects one’s physical health, cognitive development, social/emotional well-being and how an individual views themselves and their place in the world. By creating a physical home that embodies the aspirations of each youth enables the youth to aspire to far greater heights and inspires the youth to reimagine all that they can achieve and become the best version of their self.
About This Cause
A SENSE OF HOME (ASOH) is a relatively new LA-based nonprofit organization that has enjoyed immense success very quickly with a holistic approach to transform the lives of foster youth who “age out” of the system. ASOH is a community based solution, designed for replication across the country. The all-star former foster youth staff have helped design the systems and how the process might best empower their peers. ASOH brings together volunteers to serve as a family would — utilizing donated furniture to make the youth’s first permanent living space beautiful — giving them dignity, self-worth & pride. Think of it like a good, old-fashioned barn-raising, where the community all pitches in to benefit one of its members (or families). Or think of it like a family helping its adult child strike out on their own for the first time. A resourceful former foster youth may secure Section 8 Housing but with no family or community to help them set up their first home, their apartments are empty of furniture and basic necessities most people take for granted. These transitioning youth sleep, eat, study on bare floors and store their clothing in plastic garbage bags. Having already endured lives of emotional and/or physical trauma, these young people are now left with no sense of security. They’re left to fend for themselves, with no semblance of a foundation on which to build from and move forward, let alone thrive. In the process, the ASOH community acts as extended family to the transitioning youth, providing practical and emotional support, and, when possible, professional connections, they might not otherwise have. Each youth is encouraged to pay it forward partaking as a team member creating another youth’s home. The more the youth pays it forward the more they become immersed in community, learning from healthy role models who can vouch for their work ethic and open up career opportunities. ASOH builds an organic community apparatus for former foster youth to step into, be a part of, become invested in, and learn from. It is a safe space for them to live in the real world and understand how to show up as a community member and have a voice for themselves and others. When the ASOH team and community come together to create a physical home that is the embodiment of the dreams and unique personality of an aged out youth recipient , A Sense of Home offers the youth — the courage to dream and confidence to manifest those dreams, to transform the experience of scarcity to abundance and develop a sense of personal agency and self-sufficiency. When the youth pays it forward participating in another youth’s home creation they have the opportunity to impart their talents, skills and generosity — amidst a powerful team building experience. As they continue to pay it forward they become a part of and valued by the community and hence, can gain from the opportunities afforded by community. Eliminating the financial impossibility of furnishing one’s home —and creating an uncluttered, organized, and serene home environment has been proven to significantly improve the productivity of an employee and student, and increase crucial cognitive skills necessary for success in the 21st Century: Critical and Creative Thinking, Collaboration, Communication, Decision-Making and Judgment.