Thousands of Polish teenagers leaving foster care, including children's homes, are left mostly to their own devices when entering adulthood. At such an important moment, young people need real support – not only financial, but often also psychological. Therefore, the Atalaya Foundation, in cooperation with Pepco, is implementing the Life.ON program, which aims to provide comprehensive assistance to young people with significant life experiences in starting an independent life. As part of the first edition of the project, which recently concluded, 46 residents of children's homes and foster families, as well as young people who found themselves in difficult life situations, received support. Simultaneously, another edition of the program is launching. Pepco has already donated a total of over half a million PLN for this purpose.

Every year, approximately 5-6 thousand teenagers in Poland leave foster care after turning 18. According to GUS data, in 2021, a total of 6023 adults left family and institutional care. About half of them established their own households, but the rest did not manage to become independent. Some former residents return to their biological families, often dysfunctional ones, which are unable to provide them with adequate conditions for further development, including education. Young people who are left to their own devices are at risk of homelessness – deprived of support and often emotionally scarred, they often struggle to find their way and don't know how or where to start their independent lives.

A Helping Hand to Start Adulthood

The Atalaya Foundation, along with Pepco, comes to the aid of such individuals. Through the Life.ON project, initiated by the Foundation, young people leaving foster care can count on a wide range of support – from educational courses and psychological consultations to apartment renovations and furnishing. The first edition of the program began in November 2021 and recently concluded. 46 young people benefited from this assistance. Pepco donated 250,000 PLN for the implementation of the first edition of the Life.ON project. Recruitment for the second edition, which Pepco supported with 300,000 PLN, is already underway.

–Life.ON is a unique project for us, as it allows us to address the needs of young people in areas where public funding is not available. For years, we dreamed of a situation where a young person, working with their independence mentor, could truly fulfill their needs and, when necessary, undergo therapy, start a vocational course, prepare for their matriculation exams, or furnish their apartment. Here and now – exactly when it's needed. Life.ON is a chance for young people who, despite their young age, have already experienced a lot in life, a chance for good preparation for independence, for development, and simply for a dignified start to adulthood – says Anna Ejme, President of the Management Board of the Atalaya Foundation.

– The reality for young people leaving foster care can be brutal. Lacking the support of loved ones, such individuals often lack the necessary resources and do not feel ready to face the challenges of independent living. They need people who will be like family to them. With great passion, we have therefore committed ourselves to this incredibly important and needed initiative, the Life.ON project, to offer real help to young people in difficult situations to start their adult lives. We have met wonderful young individuals who dream of a happy, peaceful home or starting their own businesses, who want to study and pursue various passions such as photography, travel, dance, singing, music creation, sports, and many others. Unfortunately, they are often also people with a baggage of difficult experiences, needing friends and psychological support to take the next step – and it's a big one, into adulthood. The Atalaya Foundation has created wonderful conditions for them to do so. We are very happy to be a part of Life.ON – says Katarzyna Wilczewska, Corporate Communications Manager at Pepco.

Support in Various Areas

The Life.ON program has been designed to best prepare young people for independent living, taking into account their individual needs, including the problems they face, as well as their passions and future plans. In the first edition, beneficiaries could take advantage of:

• Vocational courses, enhancing their skills in various fields corresponding to their interests, including preparation for matriculation exams, Polish and foreign languages, chemistry and mathematics, as well as driving courses, music production, and digital photography;

• Tuition fee subsidies for university studies;

• Psychological support through individual or group sessions with independence mentors from the Atalaya Foundation and external psychotherapists. Young people could benefit from, among others, psychological and psychiatric consultations, specialized medical assistance, career counseling, and sex education classes, and learn to cope with change and difficult emotions that stand in the way of achieving their goals;

• Support with apartment renovation and finishing, as well as with handling formalities. A total of 9 apartments were renovated – most of them required extensive work.

Additionally, program participants could join the Life.ON development group. Monthly meetings were preceded by an integration trip where young people could get to know each other better. During workshops with three trainers, young people developed key social skills such as communication, assertiveness, and conflict resolution. They also formed bonds that allow them to support each other and feel safe being themselves.

For former foster care residents, this sense of security and the ability to build healthy relationships with others is often the key to a successful start in independent life. For this reason, some of the Atalaya Foundation's beneficiaries remain connected to it for longer. An example is Karolina, who has been receiving its support for four years and works with an independence mentor to cope with encountered obstacles, build self-confidence and healthy relationships, and shape her career path. Through the Life.ON project, she received funding for her studies and began learning Italian to maintain contact with her biological sister living in Italy. She is extremely helpful and actively supports other Foundation beneficiaries.

–Thanks to the comprehensive support program within the Life.ON project, former foster care residents are not only significantly better prepared for adulthood in material, educational, and emotional terms – they are also eager to help others who find themselves in difficult situations, especially children and youth. It's wonderful to see how the kindness we show to others spreads further – adds Katarzyna Wilczewska.

See the summary of the first edition of the Life.ON program.