Project Independence
Project Independence (PI) helps youth, from 18 to 24, who have aged out of the foster care system as well as probation youth and their children by providing them with affordable housing linked to comprehensive supportive services. PI youth live in subsidized apartments at scattered sites and participate in weekly comprehensive case management, education and vocational training, employment placement, financial literacy training, mental and physical healthcare and addiction recovery programs. This housing plus services strategy is effective because it provides youth with a stable foundation and adult support while they continue education or job training, find new employment and/or overcome psychological problems that interfere with their ability to live independently.
Foster youth must be employed before entering the program and be able to pay a deposit and one month's rent. All youth start the program by paying one third of their income towards rent then gradually increase the amount of rent they pay as they become more independent. Tri-City Homeless Coalition pays the remaining rent from public and private funding sources such as the California State Transitional Housing Placement Plus (THP+) program and most recently, the Foster Youth Housing Initiative. The rental subsidy portion of the program lasts up to two years.
For more information about Project Independence, please contact Marybeth McCarthy, Project Independence Director, at (510) 739-1945 ext. 208 or email mmccarthy@tricityhomeless.org.