When I became a foster/adoptive parent, former Houston Chronicle reporter Kristin Finan was a sounding board for my joys and pains of navigating a frayed child-welfare system.
She and her husband have two biological children and adopted two others through foster care. Finan later co-founded Austin-based Carrying Hope, a nonprofit that provides children in foster care with essential resources, support services and housing.
Last year, I wrote about the organization’s Hair + Hope program, which provides free hair-care services. In 2023, Carrying Hope opened its first transitional housing community for young adults ages 18 to 21 who have aged out of foster care. They receive housing and other needed resources.
Now, the organization is working to open a third transitional housing project in San Marcos and is crowdfunding to make it a reality.
There are transitional living programs in Houston and in communities across the state, but the need far exceeds the available resources.
Young people leaving foster care face enough obstacles as they enter adulthood. Having a safe place to call home shouldn’t be one of them.
Organizations like Carrying Hope can’t solve every challenge facing former foster youth, but they can provide something every young adult deserves: a stable place to begin building a future.