Helping young people thrive: the organization helping those transferring out of foster care
May is Foster Care Awareness Month and one California organization is celebrating 28 years of dedication to aiding foster care youth.
IT WILL SHOW YOU EXACTLY WHICH DISTRICT YOU LIVE IN. WELL, MAY IS NATIONAL FOSTER CARE AWARENESS MONTH AND THIS WEEK, FIRST PLACE FOR YOUTH IS CELEBRATING 28 YEARS OF HELPING YOUNG PEOPLE TRANSITION OUT OF FOSTER CARE AND INTO INDEPENDENT ADULTHOOD. THIS MORNING, WE WELCOME CEO OF FIRST PLACE FOR YOUTH, THOMAS LEE THOMAS. GOOD MORNING. THANKS FOR BEING HERE. GOOD MORNING TO YOU AND THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. OF COURSE. SO WE KNOW THAT FIRST PLACE FOR YOUTH DOES HAVE A LOCATION IN FAIRFIELD. EXPLAIN FOR PEOPLE WHO MAY NOT KNOW HOW THE COMPANY ACTUALLY HELPS YOUNG PEOPLE, I’D LOVE TO. SO FOR THE PAST 28 YEARS, WE WALK ALONGSIDE YOUNG PEOPLE THAT ARE JUST AGING OUT OF FOSTER CARE. THE AGE OF 18, AND THEY ARE LOOKING FOR HELP AND SUPPORT AS THEY START TO MAKE THEIR CAMPAIGN FOR BECOMING AN ADULT THAT IS NOT ONLY SELF-SUFFICIENT, INDEPENDENT, ABLE TO BE ABLE TO GO OUT AND GO OUT TO THE WORLD AND FIND A GOOD CAREER, FINISH COLLEGE, FINISH SCHOOL, LEARN SOME SKILLS, AND THEN ULTIMATELY BE ABLE TO GO AFTER THEIR OWN HOPES AND DREAMS. WE PROVIDE THEM EVERYTHING THAT YOU WOULD SET UP YOUR OWN CHILD WITH WHEN THEY’RE GOING OFF TO COLLEGE. THEIR VERY FIRST APARTMENT, ALL OF THE FURNISHINGS AND INCIDENTALS AND ALL OF THE THINGS THAT THEY’LL NEED TO GET THEIR START IN LIFE. AND THEN WE WRAP AN ENTIRE TEAM OF PROFESSIONALS TO HELP THEM WITH EDUCATION AND CAREER COACHING, LIFE SKILLS. AND THEN BY THE TIME THEY TURN 21 OR 25 YEARS OLD, THEY’RE ABLE TO DO IT ALL ON THEIR OWN. WE DO IT ALL ACROSS CALIFORNIA. WE ARE IN SIX STATES AROUND THE COUNTRY, AND WE HAVE ONE OF OUR MAIN SITES RIGHT IN FAIRFIELD IN SOLANO COUNTY. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES THAT YOU SEE WITH YOUNG PEOPLE AS THEY ARE MAKING THAT TRANSITION OUT OF THE SYSTEM? I THINK ONE OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES IS FIRST, TRUST. AS A SOCIETY, WE HAVEN’T GIVEN FOSTER YOUTH A LOT OF REASONS TO TRUST MORE ADULTS BEING IN THEIR LIVES. FOR THOSE OF YOU, FOR SOME OF YOUR VIEWERS, JUST SO YOU KNOW, THE MAJORITY OF FOSTER YOUTH GO INTO FOSTER CARE SYSTEMS BECAUSE OF NEGLECT AND A SMALL PORTION BECAUSE BECAUSE OF ABUSE AND BECAUSE SOME OF THE SYSTEMS, WHETHER IT’S IN THE HOME OR IN OUR BROADER SOCIETY, HAVE FAILED. THE QUESTION BECOMES, WHY SHOULD I GIVE MY TRUST AND TIME AND MY LIFE OVER TO MORE PEOPLE WITHOUT REALLY KNOWING THEM? SO FIRST THING WE HAVE TO DO IS BUILD RELATIONSHIPS. WE HAVE TO ENGAGE WITH THEM DEEPLY. WE HAVE TO SHOW THEM THAT WE ARE NOT ONLY WELL-MEANING BUT WELL-INTENTIONED, BUT WE’RE WILLING TO CREATE THE CONDITIONS FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO GROW AND THRIVE ON THEIR OWN. THE SECOND PIECE, OF COURSE, IS MAKING SURE THAT WE PUT THE FULL, WILL AND BACKING OF OUR SYSTEMS BEHIND THESE YOUNG PEOPLE ACROSS THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, THERE’S ABOUT 2300 FOSTER YOUTH AGING OUT OF CARE EACH AND EVERY YEAR. DO WE HAVE ENOUGH RESOURCES OUT THERE FOR EVERY SINGLE YOUTH TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS KIND OF SUPPORT? WE DO NOT. THAT’S WHERE WE HAVE TO MUSTER THE WILLPOWER TO REALLY GO OUT AND MAKE SURE THAT OUR SYSTEMS, AS WELL AS OUR PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS, ARE ALL PUTTING THEIR SHOULDER TO THE WHEEL TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERY YOUTH HAS WHAT THEY NEED. VERY, VERY
Helping young people thrive: the organization helping those transferring out of foster care
May is Foster Care Awareness Month and one California organization is celebrating 28 years of dedication to aiding foster care youth.
Updated: 2:22 PM PDT May 11, 2026
May is Foster Care Awareness Month, and one California organization is celebrating 28 years of dedication to aiding foster care youth. First Place for Youth is an organization with the mission of helping youth transitioning out of the foster care system build their own lives as adults. CEO Thomas Lee remarked on some of the services and challenges the organization faces. “I think one of the challenges is first trust,” Lee said. “As a society, we haven’t given foster youths a reason to trust more adults being in their lives. We provide them with everything you would set up your own child with when they’re going off to college: their very first apartment, all of the furnishings and incidentals, and all the things that they’ll need to get their start in life.”First Place for Youth supports youth between the ages of 16 and 25 by providing safe housing, career coaching, education support, and hands-on life skills. The organization has locations all across California, including one in Fairfield. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
, Calif. —
May is Foster Care Awareness Month, and one California organization is celebrating 28 years of dedication to aiding foster care youth.
First Place for Youth is an organization with the mission of helping youth transitioning out of the foster care system build their own lives as adults. CEO Thomas Lee remarked on some of the services and challenges the organization faces.
“I think one of the challenges is first trust,” Lee said. “As a society, we haven’t given foster youths a reason to trust more adults being in their lives. We provide them with everything you would set up your own child with when they’re going off to college: their very first apartment, all of the furnishings and incidentals, and all the things that they’ll need to get their start in life.”
First Place for Youth supports youth between the ages of 16 and 25 by providing safe housing, career coaching, education support, and hands-on life skills. The organization has locations all across California, including one in Fairfield.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel