DePaul's program to help Teens receives $10,000 Award

Charlottesville, VA - On Thursday, April 13, 2006, DePaul Family Services' Independent Living Program received a $10,000 grant award from the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation's Youth Service Award Committee.

Independent Living is component of DePaul Family Services' Treatment Foster Care program and is a response to the community's growing need for homes for young people, ages 17-21. Independent Living offers placement in semi-supervised apartments, which are overseen by onsite Youth Counselors and social workers who specialize in Independent Living. The teens in the IL program must attend school and work part-time. The IL program is designed to help teens learn to live on their own so that they can lead happy, productive lives once they transition out of the foster care system. "The majority of the teens in the IL program have been in the foster care system for several years and have limited resources" said Sherry Brittain, IL Program Coordinator. "That is why we are so excited about this grant money because it will help to give the youth in the program the extra support they need and deserve." The money from this grant will be used for a variety of activities including providing additional money for living expenses, special events and recognition, and to help with moving expensed for teens transitioning out of IL and into their own apartment.

What makes this award so unique is that high school students made the decision to help their fellow teens. The CACF's Youth Awards Committee was made up of nine high school seniors from the Charlottesville area. This committee received 20 grant applications and then narrowed the field down to three candidates, one of which was DePaul. Initially, the committee was concerned that the IL program in Charlottesville only housed 8 teens and that there may be a better way to reach more people by selecting another organization. However, the committee felt different after visiting the IL apartments. During the award presentation, the committee members remarked how they were touched by their visit. Several commented that they never realized how much they took for granted until they saw just how little the teens in the IL program really have. After seeing the program, they felt that the $10,000 would make a major impact not only on the teens currently in the IL program but also on future program participants.

The Charlottesville Area community Foundation was created in 1967 as a public charity dedicated to meeting changing human needs and assisting donors in the Charlottesville area. CACF's impact is unique among charities by allowing individuals, organizations, and businesses to make contributions that will benefit the entire community in perpetuity.