By Rebekah Morris for AZBEX
March 1, 2019 marks the one-year anniversary of the Foster Arizona Housing Project that provides housing for young adults aging out of group homes and foster care in Arizona. The year-long experience has provided insight on the needs of this often forgotten population and the commitment of volunteers has driven the group to purchase property enabling them to expand this line of services.
New Three-Unit Complex Needs Furnishings
BEX is hosting a drive for household goods through March 22, 2019. Donations of new and gently used items will be collected at our office at 1690 N McClintock Dr, Tempe, AZ 85281. A list of requested items can be found here. From kitchen utensils to bedding, living room furniture and more, the units need to be fitted out entirely.
The one 3-bedroom and two 2-bedroom units are offered to young adults at a greatly reduced rental price, aiming to give them a more gradual transition from group or foster homes to the realities of full adulthood.
Meeting the Needs of At Risk Kids
Once kids age out of group homes or foster care in Arizona, they are often left to fend for themselves with no family or support network to guide them as a young adult and provide them with a softer landing as they inevitably make mistakes. Foster Arizona is stepping in with the critical needs of housing and assistance in learning life skills such as budgeting, cleaning and securing a driver’s license.
Future Development Partners Needed
In addition to the new units opening up in April 2019, Foster Arizona has purchased property in Mesa, located at 525 S. Pioneer Drive. They plan to redevelop the existing building into four 2-bedroom units and four 1-bedroom units. The design by Todd & Associates is complete and they hope to break ground on the $500K project in late 2019. While volunteers are stepping up to offer project management services in kind, the skilled trades are needed in order to help keep the construction costs manageable.
Get Involved
Donations for the three new housing units are being accepted at the BEX office until 12pm, Friday, March 22, 2019. Coordinate with Rebekah Morris by email at rmorris@azbex.com, or by phone at 480-709-4190.