Opening New Doors for Aged-out Foster Youth

Broward Housing Solutions recently opened two properties for young adults struggling with mental illness and who recently aged out of foster care.  These young men and women, who at age 18 were required to fend for themselves after spending the majority of their childhood in foster care, now have a brand new or completely refurbished home of their own. 

Thanks to Broward Housing Solutions and the generous financial backing of the Community Foundation of Broward, Broward County Home Funding, Jim Moran Foundation, United Way, Bank of America, Coral Springs Community Chest and our community partners, SOS Children’s Villages and Henderson Mental Health Center, these young adults have a new lease on life.  

Special ribbon cutting events hosted at each property, Woodside Gardens in Coral Springs and Wilson Gardens in Hollywood, featured local elected officials, city and county administrators and marked this important occasion in Broward County.

Wilson Gardens, located on Wilson Street in Hollywood was a distressed, boarded-up apartment complex when it was deeded to Broward Housing Solutions by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners, with an allocation of funds for repairs. Today, after extensive renovation, the property has been upgraded and revitalized to offer seven one-bedroom apartments. Henderson Mental Health Center, a private, not-for-profit behavioral healthcare system, provides case management for these young residents. Henderson Mental Health Center offers comprehensive, recovery-focused services to more than 20,000 people, of all ages, every year.  

Woodside Gardens, on Woodside Drive in Coral Springs, is a three-unit complex that houses six young adults who were previously in foster care, with case management provided through community providers via SOS Children’s Villages Florida. SOS Children's Villages also provides a home, family and support services to abused, abandoned or severely neglected foster children who have no imminent plan for adoption or reunification with their birth families.

Both of these properties fall under the umbrella of Broward Housing Solutions’ Housing Solutions for Young Adults program, which specifically addresses youth aging out of foster care.

We look to make a difference one person at a time,” said Lisa A. Vecchi, president/CEO of Broward Housing Solutions. “Housing Solutions for Young Adults is an innovative program in which we are proud to partner with SOS Children’s Village and Henderson Mental Health Center to help teens who have experienced extremely difficult childhoods and, who are faced with limited options and huge problems.”