Blue Island, Ill. (WAND) – A first-of-its-kind residential facility with the goal of helping women transition out of DCFS care has opened in Illinois.
The Illinois Speaker of the House Chris Welch said, “It is a historic day as we stand here opening the nation’s first campus dedicated to preventing teen homelessness and unemployment for young girls and women transitioning from youth care services.”
The ‘UP-House’ can house up to fifty women and will be equipped with a rec room, theatre, and a lounge.
Mentors will also be provided that will help guide the women by providing them with life skills support and educational services.
Governor JB Pritzker said, “This is a terrific facility and it’s a terrific organization that young women in DCFS care deserve, as they embark on a new chapter of their lives.”
The organization began with Tangela Thornton’s generosity, offering up the home of herself and family members, to help young women get on their feet.
“Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined all those years of taking in young women, first to my parent’s home, my aunt’s home, my cousin’s home — anybody that had an open space, I would squeeze someone in, and then later in my own home – that it would amount to all of this,” Thornton said.
According to Welch, approximately 23,000 young people age out of traditional foster care each year throughout the country, and 20% immediately become homeless.
DCFS will invest $3 million per year to cover room and board expenses.
Four women have already moved into the new facility.
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