Cow Creek Umpqua Indian Foundation is helping foster kids learn life skills for independent living. One of the difficulties as youth ‘age out’ of foster care is most suddenly find themselves on their own. Unprepared for self-sufficiency, 30-40 percent will experience homelessness within two years. This is a situation that many youth are never able to find their way out of and can end in chronic homelessness or incarceration.
Cascade Youth & Family Center (CYFC) offers an Independent Living Program, which works to help youth at this very vulnerable stage successfully make this transition. Their case managers help current and former foster kids age 16-20 prepare for adulthood. They offer mentoring and connect them with discretionary funds, housing programs and much more.
The Cow Creek Band of the Umpqua Tribe of Indians recently awarded CYFC’s Independent Living Program $12,000 through their foundation. With the goal of improving the communities in which they live and work, the Cow Creek Umpqua Indian Foundation makes grants to eligible non-profit organizations in communities in Coos, Deschutes, Douglas, Jackson, Josephine, Klamath, and Lane counties. This grant will go far to help improve the futures of foster youth in our community.
Cascade Youth & Family Center provides shelter and services to runaway and homeless youth. CYFC programs include crisis intervention and family mediation, emergency shelter, transitional living shelter, Independent living, and street outreach. CYFC is a program of J Bar J Youth Services.
