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Phillips Foundation Grant to Expand Youth Villages’ Transitional Living to Every At-Risk Youth in Guilford County

GREENSBORO, N.C. (Feb. 3, 2015) — Phillips Foundation has granted more than $860,000 to Youth Villages North Carolina to ensure that every youth who ages out of the foster care, juvenile justice and mental health systems in Guilford County has access to Transitional Living services.

Youth Villages’ Transitional Living program empowers vulnerable young adults to make a successful transition to adulthood by connecting them with specialists who teach them necessary skills to reach their life goals, including obtaining safe housing, managing finances, training for a job, accessing community resources and pursuing further education. Statistics show that one year after completing the Transitional Living program, more than 80 percent of youth live independently or are reunited at home with family, report no legal involvement and are in school, and have graduated from high school or are in GED classes.

In Guilford County alone, more than 376 youth are in foster care or state custody and nearly 30 of these turn 18 and age out of the system each year. Youth Villages estimates that nearly 175 youth in Guilford County are currently in need of Transitional Living services.

The Phillips Foundation grant will allow the number of youth receiving these services in Guilford County to increase by 300 percent.

“Youth Villages’ Transitional Living program is the most effective of its kind in the country,” said Elizabeth Phillips, executive director of Phillips Foundation. “We made this investment because of the organization’s proven track record of transforming the futures of America’s most vulnerable youth. By equipping these young adults with the tools they need to succeed, our entire community benefits.”

The program will have a significant financial impact on Guilford County. The Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative study shows that, on average, for every young person who ages out of foster care in the U.S., taxpayers and communities pay $300,000 in social costs like public assistance, incarceration, and lost wages over that person’s lifetime. However, the young adults served by the Youth Villages program are significantly less likely to be incarcerated or commit a crime, greatly decreasing the cost to taxpayers. Youth Villages estimates this will result in more than $4.8 million in savings to Guilford County on incarceration, probation and other associated costs.

“Thanks to our partnership with the Phillips Foundation, Youth Villages will now be able to serve and support the most at-risk youth in Guilford County,” said Tara Ward, regional supervisor of Youth Villages North Carolina. “These young adults turn 18 and typically have no support. With Transitional Living services, fewer young adults will be at risk of homelessness, joblessness or incarceration. Instead, these young people will be empowered to succeed in school, in the workforce and in their adult lives.”

Youth Villages opened its Greensboro, North Carolina office in 2006. Since then, it has provided evidence- and outcome-based services to more than 935 individuals.

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About Phillips Foundation

In 2005, local business leader Kermit Phillips created the Kermit G. Phillips II Charitable Trust to provide funding to non-profit causes as elected by the Phillips family. The trust’s endowment recently gained the majority of its funding and now operates as the Phillips Foundation. The current board is regionally focused on the Greensboro community with five target areas: housing and homelessness; economic development; arts and culture; child and family services; and education and learning enrichment. For more information, visit PhillipsFoundationNC.org.

Phillips Foundation does not currently accept unsolicited grant applications. 

About Youth Villages

Youth Villages is a private nonprofit organization dedicated to helping emotionally and behaviorally troubled children and their families live successfully. The organization helps more than 22,000 children and families each year from more than 20 states and Washington, D.C. Its Evidentiary Family Restoration™ approach involves intensive work with the child and family, a focus on measuring outcomes, keeping children in the community whenever safely possible, and providing accountability to families and funders. The EFR approach produces lasting success for children with success rates twice that of traditional services at one-third the cost of traditional care. Learn more at youthvillages.org.