We bought a house!
We did it! We bought a house! And, we're this much closer to realizing our dream of offering safe, affordable, and clean housing to the foster youth that we serve.
Our new home is located in Pawtucket, and currently has three housing units with the potential for four (we're waiting on city approval of the fourth unit). This means, we are able to house multiple foster youth and their families in the same Foster Forward owned and operated dwelling. Pretty incredible, right?
Katelyn Medeiros from the Medeiros Group at Greco Realty served as our realtor. She's also an attorney in the office of the child advocate (what a perfect fit for us!). We close on this home in June and hope to have the units ready by the fall for foster youth to move into.
While we are celebrating the purchase of this home and the lives it will hold, we also recognize that this is not the end of our journey. The house and its units will need some serious TLC before we welcome in families (we might've held our breath a bit at the inspection). And yet, we know there is so much excitement and support for this project.
We're committed to creating a beautiful space for foster youth to live in, and know that there are several items to fix, replace, and restore. Here's what we know we will need to make this house a safe home:
Landscaping
New appliances in each unit
New paint throughout the home
A washer and dryer in the basement for all tenants
Masonry support, especially for the stairs outside
New windows and screens, as well as wood trim to prevent rot
A great plumber
A wonderful electrician
Funds to support additional building materials
If you would like to get involved in this project through volunteering your time, making a donation to a specific need, or recommending a service, please let us know! You can reply to me here. We'll share more about our Foster Forward home as the weeks continue. For now, we'd love for you to celebrate with us and look at the pictures below! Thank you for your enthusiasm and excitement.
Warmly,
Lisa Guillette
Executive Director
P.S. Did you know that 20,000 youth age out of the foster care system between the ages of 18 – 21 annually in the United States? That's 20,000 young people who don't have a forever family, supporting their educational choices, ensuring safe housing, and providing a foundation for exploring career paths. At Foster Forward, we're committed to providing these resources for foster youth in Rhode Island.
