The child welfare system is designed to keep kids out of harm’s way but was never intended to raise children or equip them for life. Because of this, thousands of young people are thrown back into the world as soon as they turn 18, unprepared, alone, and without a support community to help navigate the challenges of independent living.

This MEANS

• 60% of foster youth will become homeless the day they age out of the child welfare system. 20% will end up on the street or in shelters, and the other 40% will “couch surf” for years.
• More than 23,000 children will age out of the US child welfare system every year.
• As many as 60-70% of people lured into human trafficking come from the child welfare system.
• Only half of kids in the child welfare system will have gainful employment by the age of 24.
• Less than  50% will graduate high-school and only 3% will earn a college degree.

WE CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT

With your help Olive Crest continues to provide counseling, education, and mentoring for teens and young adults in crisis, working around the clock to not only house these young people, but also help them transition into healthy adulthood.
The generous financial support, time, and resources of our Olive Crest community ensures that those who graduate from our programs are stable, safe, and have the life skills needed to be healthy and productive. From personal hygiene, to understanding health insurance. From understanding public transportation to getting and keeping a job. From dealing with roommates, to dealing with lifelong trauma. But most important of all, together, we ensure that they are connected to a stable and healthy support community.