Open More Doors: Child Abuse Prevention for Foster Youth Starts Here
- Suzanne Guinn
- Apr 21
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 15
Every April, blue ribbons appear on bulletin boards, lapels, and courthouse lawns for Child Abuse Prevention Month. They are powerful reminders that every child deserves safety, love, and protection.
At AcademySTAY, we ask an important question: what happens after the system? What happens when a young person turns 18 and steps into adulthood without a safety net?
Real prevention does not end when foster care ends. Real prevention means making sure young adults have the support they need to walk through new doors with confidence.
From Survival to Success: Stories of Resilience
Every one of our students has lived through the child welfare system.
They survived removal from unsafe environments.
They moved through foster homes, sometimes more times than they can count.
Some spent their teenage years on couches, in cars, or with strangers.
All carried the weight of decisions made for them long before they could choose for themselves.
And still, they rise.
Today, these young adults hold keys to their own front doors.
They are studying business administration, cybersecurity, computer science, culinary arts, medical assisting, social work, and construction.
They are future business owners, IT specialists, chefs, healthcare workers, advocates, and builders of strong communities.
With safe housing, education support, and life skills training, they are creating futures that once seemed out of reach.
One young woman recently shared, "I never knew what 'home' felt like. Now, I do. It is not just a place. It is the feeling that someone actually believes in you."
Note: This story is a composite based on experiences shared by AcademySTAY students. Individual profiles will be featured in future posts.
The Reality Beyond Foster Care
Child protection is critical, but care does not end when a young person turns 18:
Nearly 1 in 4 people experiencing homelessness in Sacramento once lived in foster care.
Only 13% of foster youth in California are considered prepared for college or a career upon high school graduation, compared to 45.3% of all students statewide.
Many former foster youth are denied housing because they lack credit history, cosigners, or savings.
These are not just statistics. These are lives interrupted — and futures delayed.
At AcademySTAY, we are here to help open more doors to opportunity.
Child Abuse Prevention Continues into Adulthood
We invite you to expand the definition of prevention:
Real prevention continues when we invest in young adults' futures.
We prevent homelessness when we offer stable housing.
We prevent isolation when we provide access to education.
We prevent despair when we create belonging for young people aging out into adulthood.
Supporting youth after foster care is one of the most powerful forms of prevention there is.
Your Support Opens More Doors
Your gift today can help a young person step confidently into independence:
$50 provides a welcome basket filled with essentials for a new student.
$125 covers a month of groceries while students wait for benefits.
$500 sponsors a semester of life skills workshops.
$1,000 helps furnish a student's first stable apartment.
Together, We Can Build a Future Where Every Young Person Has a Key to Belonging
At AcademySTAY, we believe every young adult transitioning from foster care deserves more than survival.
They deserve the chance to dream bigger, reach higher, and stay rooted in a community that believes in them.
Together, we are rewriting what it means to stay:
To stay housed.
To stay educated.
To stay connected.
To stay hopeful.
To stay, because someone believed they were worth it.
At AcademySTAY, we believe every young adult deserves a future filled with possibility — not barriers. Together, we can open more doors, offer more hope, and build a community where every youth has the support they need to rise.
Join us. Whether through volunteering, donating, or simply sharing our mission, your partnership helps transform survival into success, and dreams into reality.
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