St. Mary's College of California

First Place for Youth

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More Than Two Decades of Supporting Transition-Age Foster Youth on their Journey to Independence As graduate students attending the University of California at Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy, Amy Lemley and Deanne Pearn were struck by how many young people who grew up in foster care faced intense challenges after aging out of care, including poverty and homelessness. With a small grant in hand, they were inspired to help break the cycle of poverty for these vulnerable youth and launched First Place for Youth, the first organization in Northern California exclusively dedicated to addressing the lack of affordable housing and resources for foster youth who had exited foster care. First Place for Youth helps foster youth build the skills they need to make a successful transition to self-sufficiency and responsible adulthood.