Shifting priorities: Nonprofit helps young people who have aged out of foster care system

Tammy Spence and her husband adopted three children out of foster care. She later went back to school to obtain her bachelor’s and master’s degrees to become a therapist. After several years in that role, Spence decided to leave her job to make a difference in the lives of foster children.

“I realized there were no jobs or services to help families like ours, so I got a job in residential care as a therapist for adolescent youth,” Spence said. “During that time, I began to see firsthand what they were going through and when they age out, how terrifying it was for them. Our job was to encourage our clients to affect change in their lives, but we didn’t know we could be the change.”

After many conversations with a colleague about what was wrong with the system and asking why no one was fixing it, she decided to form a nonprofit organization. Its goal would be to provide support, assistance and relational connection to at-risk, transitioning and aging-out youth. Second Shift was founded in September 2017, named for the second shift of life — the transitional time before young people become stable adults.

“As soon as we became a registered nonprofit and announced our existence, we were overwhelmed with work,” Spence said. “We knew the need, but it was so much more we even saw.”

Each year in the U.S. more than 25,000 young people age out of foster care and more than 60% of them do not have any identified housing. In Alabama, the number is around 500 yearly, about 70-80 just in Shelby County.

Statistics show that out of that number, more than 25% will become homeless or be unemployed within the first two years and 50% will be incarcerated. The long-range vision at Second Shift is that all youth in Alabama can transition into independent adulthood successfully with confidence, connections, support and safety.

To qualify for the program, people must be between 18-26 years old, have been in custody of Alabama DHR/Child Welfare or been in DYS or a residential facility, are in urgent need of food, financial assistance, transportation assistance or are alone with no dependable, stable support in life.

While Second Shift helps young people throughout the state, most of its work is done in Shelby County. With a caseload of between five and 25 at any given time, Spence and her team of volunteers assist their clients with things including securing housing, getting a driver’s license, helping them find employment and continuing their education.

November is Youth Homeless Awareness Month, and Second Shift is kicking off a new campaign, 30 Days of Homefullness, in which Second Shift will compare fullness vs. homelessness on its social media channels. Spence said the hope is to begin to make progress toward a goal of raising $50,000, which will be used to purchase a home.

“The home will become part of our Place to Stay program for those who do not want to be in a house with a family,” Spence said. “We frequently get phone calls from DHR that they have homeless kids. We are the wealthiest county in the state, and it is not okay for us to have homeless kids at all.”

Statistics show almost 40% of the homeless population in the U.S. are adolescents. The second leading cause of death among this population is suicide. However, research shows connection to one or more caring, stable adults can prevent homelessness, unemployment, exploitation and suicide for an at-risk youth. That’s exactly what Second Shift strives to do.

Second Shift’s Basic Care Programs include:

► Emergency assistance, which provides support by non-currency provision (gift cards, vouchers, clothing, groceries, etc.).

► Start-up assistance, which includes dorm room or first apartment start up kits and deposits and a beginning bin with all basic household goods needed to set up a home.

► Life skill support, which provides one-on-one education with a mentor to help navigate life.

Their connection programs include:

► S.A.M. (stable/supportive/short-term adult mentor who provides a one-year commitment).

►F.A.M. (forever adult mentor which is a life-long family-like commitment).

►Sponsorship.

► A Place to Stay (sustain and transition aging out youth), which provides emergency host homes.

Spence said the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has initiated a new program called The Foster Youth Independence program and Alabama will be implementing it in the next few months. She hopes Second Shift will be a designated Continuum of Care agency for housing within this program in Shelby county.

Second Shift has need for individuals or groups to volunteer in a variety of ways. To find out more information on donating or volunteering, visit secondshiftalabama.org.

“I just wish people understood it more,” Spence said. “These are terrific kids. They are so strong. They’re survivors. They’ve faced more in their young lives than many ever will and they keep going. These kids deserve a chance.”