William made a phone call to his mentor. It was the second difficult

phone call he’d had to make recently.

William told Don, his mentor, everything that happened since they’d

last spoken.

William left a group home and state custody at 18 without any adult

skills and entered Youth Villages’ transitional living program. His mentor,

Don, helped him set up an apartment and co-signed for William’s utilities.

“I don’t know how many loads of food he put in my refrigerator,”

William said. “He got me a phone and other things I needed for the

apartment.”

But William didn’t take the TL program seriously. He missed meetings

and didn’t do what was expected of him. While he found an apartment

and began going to school, he also began to enjoy his freedom to excess.

In a very short time, William was evicted, lost his job and dropped out

of school. He didn’t have many options when he called Youth Villages.

Andrew Smith is William’s TL specialist.

“I didn’t want to wind up being like my parents,” William said. “I knew I

had to make that call, and I was welcomed back to the TL program.”

A month into TL, William was hired by an employment agency. That’s

when he called Don, the person who’d staked William and believed in him

when he was starting out on his own.

“It took me a while to call him back,” William said. “After I told him

WILLIAM’S MORE COMMITTED THE SECOND TIME AROUND

William, left, searches online for apartments and homes with Andrew, his TL specialist.

Continued on next page

KEY INDICATORS

93%

87%

79%

www.YouthVillages.org

207 181 227 Youth Villages

helps more than

600 youth in the

TL program

every day.

1,035 Number of youth helped by TL

program so far this fiscal year

71%

TRANSITIONAL LIVINGOctober to December 2014 Tennessee ReportSecond Quarter of Fiscal Year 2015

IN SCHOOL OR GRADUATED

EMPLOYED OR SEEKING EMPLOYMENT

LIVING WITH FAMILYOR INDEPENDENTLY

NO INVOLVEMENT WITH THE LAW

Numbers below reflect second-quarter status of youth

currently in the transitional living program.

Founded in 1986, Youth Villages is a leading national nonprofit dedicated to

providing the most effective local solutions to help emotionally and behaviorally

troubled children and their families live successfully. We help more than 22,000

children and families each year from more than 20 states and Washington, D.C.

Youth Villages’ Evidentiary Family Restoration™ approach involves intensive work

with the child and family, a focus on measuring outcomes, keeping children in the

community whenever safely possible, and providing unprecedented accountability

to families and funders.

TO MAKE A REFERRALContact the nearest Youth Villages office and ask to make a referral to the TL program. You may also contact the nearest

Department of Children’s Services office and ask to speak to the local independent living specialist about TL services.

what had happened, he asked me, ‘Did

you learn anything?’”

William was physically abused and

went into foster care when he was 11.

His mother couldn’t provide a stable

home for him. Residential stays at

Youth Villages’ campuses provided the

structure and routine he needed to

learn how to cope with frustrating or

difficult situations. Youth Villages also

provided William with Don, his mentor,

who was a critical support for William

when he left state custody. Don met with

William several times a week, many

times bringing food and taking William

bowling.

“He beat me at pool so many times it

wasn’t funny,” William said. “We even

went to a Civil War park.”

William, 19, has an easy-going

demeanor. In TL, he’s working on

what he calls “baby steps,” prioritizing

his goals and pursuing them, one

by one. He’s learning about money

management and scheduling his

time effectively. He’s looking for an

apartment while staying with a friend.

William wants to return to school and

finish college, but that’s in the future. He

stays in touch with family, but that’s as

far as it goes. He has good friends and

good people who help him out now.

“I think he’s really committed to

getting something out of the program

this time,” Andrew said. “He’s got a

clear idea and renewed energy. Ever

since he’s been back, he wants to work.”

Much of what guides William’s

progress came from Don, who’s still an

important figure in William’s life.

“Even with all the things that he

bought me, he always had some advice

to give me,” William said. “And that is

something that will always last.”

Without the TL program, William’s not

sure about his future.

“It’d either work out about the same

but more difficult, or I would have just

given up,” he said. “TL kept motivating

me and never stopped. Even after

dropping the program the first time,

Youth Villages came back and helped

me.

“I have TL and my friends — I’m

grateful for them, but I know in the end

it’s up to me to do what I need to do.”

TL has helped William get a job and finding an apartment

continued from previous page

All contents ©2015 by Youth Villages, Inc.

with all rights reserved. Youth Villages is accredited by the Joint Commission.

www.youthvillages.org

“YOUTH VILLAGES AND TENNESSEE DCS HAVE A STREAMLINED REFERRAL PROCESS THAT IDENTIFIES YOUTH LIKELY TO AGE OUT OF FOSTER CARE, TO MAXIMIZE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL SUCH YOUTH TO GET THE SERVICE. TRANSITIONAL LIVING CAN BE PROVIDED EVEN WHEN YOUTH ACCEPT OTHER SERVICES, SUCH AS EXTENSION OF FOSTER CARE. THIS ALLOWS FOR A MORE COMPREHENSIVE AVAILABILITY OF SUPPORTIVE ADULTS AND ARRAY OF SERVICES. WE BELIEVE THIS PUTS TENNESSEE AT THE FOREFRONT NA-TIONALLY IN TERMS OF SUPPORT FOR AGED-OUT YOUTH. YOUTH VILLAGES STAFF RESPOND TO REFERRALS PROMPTLY, EFFECTIVELY ASSESS THE YOUTHS’ NEEDS, AND START GETTING SERVICES IN PLACE QUICKLY. TRANSITIONAL LIVING SERVICES ARE INDIVIDUALIZED AND FOCUSED ON HELPING YOUTH LEARN HOW TO SET THEIR OWN GOALS, FIND AND USE RESOURCES AND ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS. THE FOCUS IS ON LONG-TERM SUCCESS AND NOT JUST GETTING THROUGH A CURRENT ROUGH PATCH. THIS ALLOWS FOR A LOT OF YOUTH TO BE SERVED IN AN EFFECTIVE WAY. YOUTH VILLAGES TRANSITIONAL LIVING IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF TENNESSEE’S EFFORT TO SUPPORT YOUNG PEOPLE OVERCOMING ADVERSITY AND BECOMING HEALTHY AND PRODUCTIVE MEMBERS OF SOCIETY.”

Tennessee DCS Independent Living

Assistant Director Dave Aguzzi