The transition from being a young person to becoming an adult is difficult for everyone: we take on more responsibilities, need to become independent, and fit into social and working life. It's not always easy to find your way, and it's even less easy if up to that point our lives have been more complicated than usual. This is what happens to Care Leavers, young people who have just turned 18 and are leaving foster care facilities, whether they are socio-educational communities, group homes, foster families. These boys, having turned 18, have completed their guardianship, but in most cases they have not recovered their relationship with their families of origin and do not have any kind of support. To accompany toward adulthood the boys who need it most, Agevolando Association since 2010 has been supporting Care Leavers in becoming autonomous: it does so by participating in the Ministerial Coordination Table on the guidelines for reception in residential services for minors and carrying out an important advocacy action, which among other things promoted the inclusion in the 2018 Stability Law of a fund for Care Leavers. For juveniles, the Agevolando Association seeks to create educational, employment, housing, and relational opportunities; it also collaborates with social workers, educational communities, foster homes, and foster families so that the path to autonomy is gradual and participatory. What if I had one more chance? Who knows how many times kids in need have asked themselves this question. “Se avessi” (If I Had) is the name of the project we support, which with an economic contribution supports 25 young people between 17 and 25 years old in the path of autonomy. The project, already active in Campania, Emilia Romagna, Lombardy, Marche, Piedmont, Trentino and Umbria, will also be implemented in Liguria, Lazio, Sicily and Sardinia. The grant is intended to assign 25 young people, exiting socio-educational communities, an “endowment” (dote) for the construction of an individual project. Specifically, the “endowment” will cover expenses related to four thematic areas identified as decisive in the sphere of each young adult: housing, training, work and relational. The endowments are customizable for each Care leaver and thus allow for practical problem solving for the implementation of individual projects, while creating a path for personal growth and inclusion. Being Care Leavers doesn't have to mean not having anyone near you: the path to becoming an adult is easier if you walk it with guidance, and this possibility must be guaranteed for everyone. Details Location: Italy Association: Agevolando ODV Beneficiaries: 25 Care Leavers between 17 and 25 years old Contribution: 100,000 euros Period: December 2023 - June 2025
