TEXAS — More than 700 people age out of the foster care system every year in the state, according to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Aging out refers to when a person turns 18 and is no longer a ward of the state.
Those individuals, however, face a high risk of homelessness, with the department saying that nearly half of those who age out will experience homelessness by the age of 26.
One solution used to combat homelessness is the Foster to Youth Independence (FYI) voucher, created back in 2019.
“FYI vouchers are federal housing vouchers specifically for youth and young adults that are exiting the foster care system,” said David Gray, the director for the City of Austin’s Homeless Strategies and Operations Office. “It provides those young adults with up to three years of federally funded housing assistance.”
But there’s a catch.
“While the federal government provides these housing supports for young people, it comes with an unfunded mandate to be coupled with supportive services,” said Liz Schoenfeld, the CEO of LifeWorks — an organization that provides those services and helps connect individuals to FYI vouchers.
Their funding comes in from the City of Austin and other philanthropic donations.
“We at LifeWorks have been incredibly fortunate over the last couple of years by being able to piece together these alternative sources of funding to provide the supportive services, it’s by no means a stable and reliable means of providing that support in the long run,” said Schoenfeld.
Schoenfeld and other housing advocates are making it their mission to increase funding from the state. They testified before the Texas House Intergovernmental Affairs Committee on June 24 to raise the issue that more funding is needed not only in Austin but across the state.
This coincides with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development — where the FYI voucher program originated from — announcing in late July that it is removing the cap on the number of FYI vouchers public housing agencies, like cities and organizations, can apply for.
But if a city doesn’t have the mandated services, no vouchers can be released.
“One of the conversations we’ve been having recently is with the state to ensure that every young person, regardless of geography, in the state of Texas is able to access the supportive services that would open FYI vouchers to them,” said Schoenfeld.
One former foster kid, Jared Irwin, says the effort is a win in his book.
“The fact that we’re going to bring this to other youth — yes, please, and thank you,” he said. “Because it changed my life, and it can change other people’s lives as well.”