We get you. And we know that you can have the loving, permanent family that you rightly deserve.
That’s why we’ve got your back.
Are you between the ages of ten and twenty-one? Are you or have you been in foster care? Or maybe you are separated from your birth family? Perhaps you are currently without a home? If you are experiencing (or have experienced) any of these situations, we’re here for you. Many of our staff at You Gotta Believe have been down this road: we get you.How we work
- Our number one priority is you. We put your needs, dreams and hopes first. Why? Because you’re you. It’s that simple.
- Trust is key. We work hard to build a relationship of mutual trust, where you and us are on the same page. We don’t share your secrets unless you allow us to, and we don’t play games.
- Family and you: We believe that you should have the opportunity to achieve your potential, to go after the life you want, and to live your dreams. Having a loving family is an important part of that journey. And if you want to have that family, we can help.
Here’s what we can do to help:
We have TV and radio shows for young people, where youth and us talk about the challenges of foster care, finding a family, and being part of a family! Sharing: We’ve worked with more than 450 young people who have been in foster care and now have permanent families. If you’d like to connect with them, and share ways of coping when times are rough or even just stories of good times and bad, connect with us on Facebook or sign up with email here. Finding Family: You may have heard that if you’re a teenager, your chances of being adopted are zero. We want you know that that is not true. We believe and work everyday so that every young person – no matter your age, gender, orientation, ability, or anything else – can have the loving, permanent family you deserve. Here’s how that works:- We’re with you every step of the way – from whenever you decide you want to find a family, through actually finding and building a relationship with those potential parents, and even after you are with your permanent family.
- We begin by getting to know you – by understanding the past, little by little, on your terms, and by working with you to discover the people in your life, whom you already know, who may be interested in becoming a parent. We call this our youth-centered recruitment model – which puts your interests first.
- This process can take weeks or month as we get to know you (and you get to know us!), build mutual trust, and brainstorm together to identify prospective parents from the network of people you already know. This is an intensive process, because it takes time and energy to think about and identify whether people like neighbors, cousins, teachers, social workers, or friends can be your future and forever family.
- Then, with your permission, we reach out to prospective parents and invite them to participate in our parent-training program. The parent-training program is intensive and difficult to navigate. So we help you and the potential parent(s) through the entire training.
- Throughout this process, we understand that you (or the prospective parent) may have doubts, so we are always open and honest with you – and available to listen.
- Once the training is completed and the potential parents receive their certification, we work with you and them to explore legal adoption options. But, equally important, we support you and them making the commitment to be a “forever family.” This is a two-way street so both you and them must be ready for it, whenever you are ready for it.
- After you and your future family are committed to being a forever family, we help you with legal services as well as emotional support to make the transition to living with your forever family.