Safety Net event helps Kootenai teens aging out of foster care

Safety Net will connect teens aging out of foster care with help from about 20 nonprofits Saturday at the Coeur d’Alene Public Library, giving young people a place to turn for practical support as they step toward adulthood.

The free event runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Teen Zone Connect, a teen resource fair for ages 12 to 19, and nothing will be for sale. Library organizers say informational booths will be set up both inside and outside the building, with local groups offering job-seeking advice, real-life assistance, civic engagement ideas, clubs, freebies and other resources. Safety Net will use the event to show teens and young adults how to file an application for its services.

Safety Net Inland NW says its mission is to help local teens and young adults who have aged out of foster care stay in school, receive job training and handle financial emergencies. Founded by Molly Allen and Coleen Quisenberry more than 10 years ago, the nonprofit says it began after they connected over the needs of youth who had nowhere to turn at 18. It also works with high school counselors, college advisors and social workers to reach young people before they fall out of contact with the adults and systems that once supported them.

The organization’s help can reach beyond a single appointment. Safety Net says it has warehouses in Spokane and Post Falls where young people can obtain household items for a first apartment, a small but often decisive step for someone trying to leave foster care without a family safety net. In a county where housing and transportation can be difficult to secure, those practical supports can keep a young adult from slipping into crisis.

Idaho’s Independent Living Program assists youth ages 14 to 23 in building the skills needed to move from foster care to independent living. The state says youth and young adults ages 16 to 26 may qualify for education assistance, and eligible young adults can remain in extended foster care until age 23 if they turned 18 while under state or tribal custody. Services can include financial assistance, housing referrals, counseling referrals, employment referrals, education help, room and board in some cases, and support from mentors and other adults.

The national need is large. The U.S. Department of Education says more than 23,000 youth age out of foster care each year, and federal agencies created a Foster Care Transition Toolkit because the move into adulthood can be confusing and uncertain. Saturday’s gathering gives Kootenai County teens a public, welcoming place to start finding the help they need before they are left to navigate it alone.