Ask a young adult with no place to sleep tonight to focus on a certification exam. You already know how that goes.
Housing comes first at Prime Village™ because nothing else holds without it. A job application asks for an address. An employer expects you rested and on time. A class expects you to return tomorrow. Each of those depends on a door you can lock behind you.
For young people leaving foster care, that door is often missing. 26% experience homelessness between ages 19 and 21. Many more move from couch to couch and never appear in a count.
I have watched what stability does for a person. When the question of where to sleep is settled, the mind has room for the next question. What do I want to learn? Where do I want to work? Who do I want to become?
Our plan is to pair every certificate track with a stable place to live and staff who are present. Our long term goal is a Village campus with housing on site, so that learning, support and home sit in one place.
Housing is where the work begins. The goal is a Villager who leaves with a credential, a job and a lease in their own name.
Source: Annie E. Casey Foundation, KIDS COUNT Data Center.