To be part of the change I purchased a two family home. I identified four former foster youth who had recently left the system to move in. Three of them are or will be students and Cleveland State and one of them is working an entry-level job and expecting the child. Two of them are LGBT, which is a group that is known to be marginalized even more than the average foster youth, which is why their rates of homelessness are even higher. A local eye doctor had generously offered to provide free care to these girls. An orthodontist was going to offer job shadowing. A local church had offered jobs with local businesses, and we were even in discussions to have the girls attend coding lessons. 

We had struggled with contractor issues early on, but persevered and were on track for a June move in. The rewiring and renovations were mainly complete. We just needed to add drywall. Then during the last week of March a neighbor called to say my front door was open. I rushed over to the home only to find two hot water tanks, two furnaces, the toilets, paint, flooring, drywall and tools had all been stolen. The lock box to the home was broken open. Clearly these thieves knew what they were doing.

Sadly, I had cancelled the insurance because no one was living there yet, and I needed to put that money toward the renovation. Yes, I am kicking myself. 
My heart is broken. I look around Cleveland and see all these abandoned home and think about the hundreds of Cleveland-area youth who "age out" of foster care each year when they become too old for services and desperately need housing and support. I see these abandoned homes as potential for a supportive community of former foster youth trying to make something with their lives.
My plan to open Foster Share Home in early June has met with defeat and delay. I am now in dire need of help. Please take the time to look at these statistics I am sure we could all agree why it is so important for the home of “FOSTER SHARE “ to be implemented to help foster youth achieve better outcomes.

• More than one in five will become homeless after age 18 

• Only 58 percent will graduate high school by age 19 (compared to 87 percent of all 19 year olds) 

• 71 percent of young women are pregnant by 21, facing higher rates of unemployment, criminal conviction, public assistance, and involvement in the child welfare system 

• At the age of 24, only half are employed 

• Fewer than 3 percent will earn a college degree by age 25 (compared to 28 percent of all 25 year olds)One in four will be involved in the justice system within two years of leaving the foster care system

• In 2013, 60% of the child sex trafficking victims recovered as part of FBI nationwide raid from over 70 cities were children from foster care or group homes.  

I hope you will open your hearts and help me provide a decent place for these four girls to live. This is really the start of something bigger--a solution to a problem that costs us so much more in the end. 

Please consider making a purchase, donating to the GoFundMe campaign or even sharing construction materials and contacts to honest contractors. 

Thank you for your consideration,
Kevinee Gilmore