NO LONGER DEFINED BY MY PAST: Pre-Med Student and LifeSet Participant, Diamond, Shares Her Story
I’m currently an undergrad student at Tennessee State University studying chemistry. Most of my time goes toward studying to make sure I stay on track to go to medical school and become a gynecologist. I didn’t know a lot about my body growing up, so once I started...
Jimena Makes the Right Choice for Herself and Family
“I felt like I had to be the strong one for us all.” These are the words of Jimena, 18, a former foster youth from North Carolina who made a tough decision that landed her and her siblings into the foster care system.
Andreia Finds New Life, Mindset
Andreia had a rough start. Her mother had a substance abuse problem and went to jail, sending Andreia and her older siblings to kinship care. One after another her siblings left home.
Andreia felt alone and a little abandoned. After her aunt died, she entered foster care at 17. Although she had a roof overhead, Andreia still felt very alone.
Lifeset Scholar to Take on New York Times Summer Creative Writing Program
Sometimes, it takes knowing others are proud of what you’ve accomplished. Every day, Youth Villages teaches young adults how to be resilient, face challenges head on and take strides to accomplish goals through its LifeSet program.
Lifeset Gave Shylann Tools to Cope with Anxiety, Succeed in School
Imagine this scenario: You’re a dormitory resident assistant (RA) on a college campus. A winter storm comes through, dumping several inches of snow and lowering temperatures below freezing. Then, the dorm’s pipes burst. Suddenly, your residents have no water—to drink, shower or even flush toilets. They all are looking to you for help and guidance.
Lifeset Highlighted at APHSA Conference in Georgia
LifeSet participants and staff from New Hampshire recently spoke about the needs of transition-age youth at a meeting of the American Public Human Services Association’s Economic Mobility & Well-Being Conference in Savannah, Georgia.
A Lifeline of Hope
Young people who experience foster care are resilient and capable. Still, they need support as they move toward adulthood.
K’laja’s Journey with Youth Villages
K’laja is currently enrolled in Youth Villages’ LifeSet program, an intensive support program designed to help youth actualize their goals of self-sufficiency and independence as they prepare to age out of foster care. Without these supports, young people face far...
Youth Villages Routes Mariana’s Life Course
When many teenagers enter their junior year of high school, their life pathways are somewhat charted. For some, the path leads to college. For others, a trade or technical school. For still others, finding employment. But often that path is set up starting with the...
Learning How to Cope
Nineteen-year-old Trinity has learned many life skills through the Youth Villages LifeSet program, which serves as a bridge from foster care to successful adulthood and helps young adults build the skills they need to live independently and successfully. After a few...
Lifeset Inspires Clarita to Pursue Education and Give Back to Community
At times, the hurt is too unbearable to return. When ties are cut, it can affect more than immediate family. It can reverberate through the community and sever bonds with friends, acquaintances and extended relatives. For Clarita, the pattern of hurt took a turn for...
LifeSet Helps Keshawna Move Beyond Trauma as She Transitions to College
Meet Keshawna, a bright, intelligent, independent college freshman ready to take on the world.
Achieving Goals – Ayla’s Story
High school is difficult for any teenager, but for a teen facing issues at home, those challenges can become even more daunting. It is even more difficult as 18 approaches. Ayla endured years of uncertainty and trouble at home. She was finally placed at a center due...
LifeSet Program Helps Katrina Reach Her Goals
At just 20 years old, Katrina had walked a rocky road for most of her life. Due to domestic violence and verbal abuse, she was removed from her biological home two weeks before her 18th birthday.
Amani’s LifeSet Story
Amani, 19, spent over three years in the foster care system due to instability in her home. During that time she was placed in the care of relatives – a kinship foster placement, often the best for children.
Becoming a Successful Parent – Maddie’s Story
At 16 years old, Maddie gave birth to a baby boy. She was living in a small apartment with her mother at the time. Maddie and her mom had issues relating to each other. They were in family therapy, but Maddie felt it wasn’t enough.
Janie’s House youth receive a spa day from ‘She’s a Victor’ at Texture Studios
Desiree Allen, founder of ‘She’s a Victor’ nonprofit teamed up with Janie’s House youth to get pampered head to toe during a spa day at Texture Studios.
Brandy Finds Her Path with LifeSet in Middle Tennessee
Brandy was a thriving junior in high school when her world turned upside down. Her mother died of a stroke, leaving her and her younger sister unsure of what would happen next, including whether they could stay together. Luckily, Brandy had an aunt who took guardianship of the girls during her senior year of high school.
The road to being a successful parent – Natalie’s story
Every parent wants their children to grow up and do amazing things with their lives. For Natalie, making sure her baby boy has a better childhood than she did is a number one goal.
How does it feel to “age out” of foster care
Every year, approximately 20,000 young people turn 18 in child welfare systems without ever being reunited with their biological family. Ary, a young woman receiving help in Youth Villages Oklahoma’s LifeSet program experienced the ups and downs of that big birthday.
Serena is taking control over her future
Serena’s success from foster care to adulthood, with a little help from LifeSet. Serena first entered foster care when she was 16 years old. “When you are taken into foster care, you feel like you lose everything and lose control over your life,” Serena said.
Scholars like Ali show how to ‘defy the odds’
When Ali graduated from college this year, she decorated her cap with a special message. “I chose to put ‘defying the odds’ on my graduation cap because statistically, I shouldn’t have even gone to college, let alone graduate,” Ali said. “But I did both!”
Turning Points LifeSet helps Jamyra Achieve Her Goals
Jamyra was on her way to becoming just another negative statistic — a former foster child who failed to become an independent adult. But, just when the young woman needed help most, Turning Points for Children partnered with Youth Villages to bring LifeSet to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Julia beats the odds
Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States, affecting 40 million adults, or 18% of the population, age 18 and older. Julia is a 19 year old in our LifeSet program who has struggled with anxiety her entire life.
Steven Tyler’s 4th Annual Grammy Awards® Viewing Party Benefiting Janie’s Fund Raises Record-Breaking $4.6 Million
Last night, music legend and humanitarian Steven Tyler hosted the 4th Annual GRAMMY Awards® Viewing Party benefitting Janie’s Fund, presented by Live Nation.
Finding My North Star: My journey from foster care to success
When things get hard, many of us turn to the closest things to help us escape. I was lucky. The closest things to me were books, and I read every single book I could get my hands on, cover to cover.
Pastry and Steven Tyler’s Janie’s Fund launch movement to empower girls
Atlanta-based dance shoe company, Pastry, announced it is ‘stepping up’ and joining in the fight with Steven Tyler’s Janie’s Fund to support girls and young women that have experienced the trauma of abuse and neglect.
Hope in the Middle of Despair
An Open Letter to my Brothers and Sisters the World Over: My one birthday wish for today…a gift of healing for the world. My heart is broken… I don’t know how else to say it. Never in my lifetime have we, as one race (the human race), faced such challenges as we do...
“I Am Janie”
On April 2nd, Janie’s Fund launched the I Am Janie campaign in conjunction with Sexual Assault Awareness Month. With the participation of influencers like Jane Lynch, Terry Crews, Rumer Willis, Derek Hough, and Mia and Chelsea Tyler, the campaign has brought...
GRAMMY Award®-winning recording artist Steven Tyler opens Janie’s House in Memphis
Steven Tyler stands together with girls who will receive treatment at Janie's House at the center's grand opening on Youth Villages' Bartlett, Tennessee campus on February 6, 2019. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Steven Tyler earlier this week celebrated the opening...
Steven Tyler’s Second Annual GRAMMY Awards Viewing Party benefiting Janie’s Fund presented by Live Nation
Hollywood and Rock Royalty Gathered at the Exclusive Gala Raising $2.8 Million for Janie’s Fund Aerosmith Closed the Night with Epic Live Performance(Credit: Getty Images) LOS ANGELES, CA (February 11, 2019) – Last night, iconic music legend and humanitarian Steven...