Living Advantage, Inc. wants to make a change...
By being a licensed group home foster youth provider for over 12 years in LA and Orange Counties, www.LivingAdvantageInc.org has improved the organization to offer innovative technology to at risk foster care teenagers and young adults in the way of an interactive secured web site. To fulfill our mission, we have seized the benefits of technology to gather the vital life documents for youth, called the Virtual Assisted Living and Education Program, The V.A.L.E. Program. Youth will have access to a secure web site www.myLAspace.org that gathers and maintains their vital life documents; assists them with continuous education; independent living, job and medical resources.
There are nearly 40,000 foster youth living under the auspices of the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) — and this year alone 1,400 young adults will have to leave the support of the foster care system forever. At the age of 18, their cases will be “terminated,” and are forced out on to the streets with little life skills and no financial support. Not only are they on the street, now they are vulnerable and exposed to committing theft, prostitution and drug abuse for survival. The V.A.L.E. program will assist in getting transitional housing, school and career opportunities. We will reduce the plight of homelessness, incarceration, and alcoholism and drug addiction against emancipated foster youth.
Foster care teenagers face issues such as not having social security cards, birth certificates and lack of immunization documentation which renders them completely unidentifiable. There are times when the teenagers are unaware of their birth dates. This often happens when the child is continuously moved from home to home and information was never transferred or is lost.
Did you know that approximately 69% of students living in Foster Care in Los Angeles are not able to enroll into their new schools because they lack access to their own life documents, school records and immunization records?
Living Advantage has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with The Los Angeles County of Education to immediately start servicing the 1,400 teenagers facing termination. VisualConcept.com has developed a secured web site to complement Living Advantage with the V.A.L.E. Program to gather and maintain the teenager’s personal information so that it is not vulnerable to identify theft.
Now what we really need is your assistance in partnering with regard to funding this innovated program that will implement a solution to one of the largest issues in Foster Care today. Please proceed to the enclosed contribution form where you can help with your tax deductible donation.
I thank you in advance for your consideration and interest in our program.
