TUCSON, AZ — Embracing her house parent, Emily Brooks talked to Zoey Ayers about her day, laughing about a recent movie she had seen.
Brooks is 19 years old and has lived at GAP Ministries in Tucson for over two years. The organization provides housing for kids in the foster care system and young adults ages 18 to 21 who are transitioning out of it.
“I was a nervous ball of anxiety constantly, and then over time I started to build relationships,” Brooks said.
One of those relationships is with Ayers, who is now the assistant director of their Splash housing program.
“It allows them to stay in a safe environment as well, so they get to live with us, be a part of the family environment,” Ayers said.
The Department of Health and Human Services said more than 20,000 young adults transition out of foster care each year, many facing housing insecurity or homelessness.
“The world just hits them in the face and is very…they just end up below where they started,” Brooks said.
To prevent that, First Lady Melania Trump said the Trump Administration is putting $25 million from next fiscal year’s budget towards rental assistance and other services, hoping that it’ll help 18- to 24-year-olds stay self-sufficient and stable.
“It teaches us how to live and have money and spend money and do things responsibly,” Brooks said.
At GAP Ministries they teach young adults how to budget their money and find a job.
“They’re learning what does it look for me to live in the real world? What does it look like for me to have a job, budget?” Ayers said.
It’s helping people like Brooks who says young adults have options.
“The world is going to bite you in your butt and you just have to lean on the people around you,” she said.
