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Eighteen
can be an exciting age. Many young people anticipate attending college, while others plan to work or join the military. And most are eager to move out from under their parents’ wings and try to fly on their own. But for teens aging out of the foster care system, turning 18 can be frightening. Bridget Cannon, director of youth services at Volunteers of America, said, “Statistically, the majority end up homeless”/Cindy Hval, Washington Voices. More here. (SR photo/Christopher Anderson: Mark Casteel stops for a portrait en route to one of his classes at EWU on Tuesday. Casteel is a teen who has been helped by Safety Net after his foster care support ended at 18.)
Question: How old were you when you left home?
D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.
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Phaedrus on January 20 at 5:33 p.m.
17 years old.
Norther on January 20 at 5:48 p.m.
18 years old
stacyp on January 20 at 5:56 p.m.
Wow. How can I help? What a fantastic program!
HonestGeorge on January 20 at 7:47 p.m.
17 years old.
Escapee on January 20 at 7:51 p.m.
“Aging Teens”? Seeing both of those words in the same sentence makes me feel even Older. Thanks, DFO…
Cindy_H on January 20 at 7:55 p.m.
@stacyp: How to help
Safety Net welcomes cash donations, as well as donations of new or gently used household items such as small appliances and linens. For more information, visit www.safetynetspokane.org.
I hope you contact them. These are great people filling real need in our community.
stacyp on January 20 at 8:16 p.m.
Thanks for the link, Cindy. I actually have many of those items available for donation as a result of my recent move. I’d love to see them go to a young person making a new start.
otisgexperience on January 20 at 10:18 p.m.
19, 22, 25, and 35. Hopefully, that’s it.
Cindy_H on January 20 at 10:45 p.m.
@otis: Quit scaring me.
fishinjay on January 21 at 7:31 a.m.
I was 17 when I went off to college for one semester, after dropping out and signing up for the military I was back at home at 18 for two months waiting to go to boot camp, then after the military I was back home for 4 months (working, not just sitting around) at the age of 24 waiting for college to start up. I never had to live at home again after that.