YWCA Opens House for Women Ready to Leave Foster Homes
The YWCA of Santa Monica has opened a residential facility for young women making the transition from foster homes to life on their own.
The nonprofit organization’s Transitional Housing and Education Program acts as a bridge between foster care and adult society by providing a safe environment and access to social support and services for women ages 18 to 22, said Sharon Wunder, housing director for the facility.
Many young women who spend their childhoods in foster care are ill-prepared for independent living, Wunder said. Under the program, all residents at the Santa Monica site must pursue their educations, with a goal of leaving within 2 1/2 years to live on their own.
Eventually, six women will live in the two-story house on 14th Street. There are now two residents and two full-time staffers at the 7,000-square-foot home.
Funding for $1.3 million worth of retrofitting and refurbishment to the 1933 building, which was damaged in the Northridge earthquake, came from private donations, grants and FEMA funds, Wunder said.
The facility will celebrate its grand opening Thursday. Information: (310) 314-1466.
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