SAN ANTONIO—Young adults who recently aged out of the foster care system—or will soon—celebrated a Thanksgiving meal at Trinity Baptist Church with peers and mentors from the Baptist Child & Family Services’ Preparation for Adult Living program.
“Our hope is that these young adults who don’t have a traditional Thanksgiving would come here every year,” said Gayle Davis, San Antonio PAL site coordinator. “We want to give them a place where they have a sense of belonging to create their own memories and traditions. That’s really what the luncheon is all about.”
More than 160 youth, foster parents, Child Protective Services case workers, Alamo Work Source personnel and staff of other organizations involved in the PAL program attended the event.
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Former foster youth Isabelle Manzanares and Theresa McCadney enjoyed the Baptist Child & Family Service-sponsored Preparation for Adult Living Thanksgiving feast with the group that they call family.
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Preparation for Living honored Casey Family Programs as a special guest at the luncheon, in celebration of a renewed partnership between the two organizations.
“The PAL luncheon is very helpful to people like me who are already out of care,” said Isabelle Manzanares, 24. “It gives me a place to connect with my friends and mentors who I would otherwise lose touch with.”
The theme for this year’s luncheon was “A Time to Give Thanks,” and participants expressed gratitude to the PAL staff for their help equipping them to successfully age out of the foster care system and become well-adjusted adults.
“I enjoy reconnecting with the foster care community, as I know that no one else understands my experiences like those who have been through the same things,” said Anthony Keller, 19, who attends a San Antonio college and works at a grocery store, thanks to the help of the PAL program.
In the last fiscal year, PAL serviced more than 1,000 youth in San Antonio and surrounding areas.
PAL provides transitional services such as healthcare, housing, job training, education and financial support to foster youth between the ages of 16 and 21 to prepare young adults for life on their own.
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While most young adults have parents or guardians to help them navigate the process of buying their first car or renting their first apartment, children in foster care generally do not have that kind of firm support system once they age out of state custody. The PAL program helps fill this void.
To learn more about BCFS and its PAL program, visit: http://www.bcfs.net/PAL.
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