Open Table is one of the newest initiatives from the North End Community Investment Collaborative (NECIC) and one that they are extremely enthusiastic about. Spearheaded by Community Organizer Kay Smith, the Open Table initiative is a mentoring program targeting youth who are aging out of foster care, with the goal of giving those young people a close-knit network of trusted support during this potentially vulnerable time of transition.
The statistics regarding youth aging out of foster care are sobering:
- After reaching the age of eighteen, twenty percent of the children who were in foster care will become instantly homeless.
- Only one out of every two foster kids who age out of the system will have some form of gainful employment by the age of twenty-four.
- There is less than a three percent chance for children who have aged out of foster care to earn a college degree at any point in their life.
- Seven out of ten girls who age out of the foster care system will become pregnant before the age of twenty-one.
- About one in four kids who age out of the system will not graduate from high school or be able to pass their GED.
That’s why the Open Table initiative is so vitally important to those children in our community who are aging out of foster care. Each “Table” is composed of a group of volunteers that make a commitment to act as a team of life specialists, encouragers, and advocates for the children. The Table members, together with the individual or family being served, establish goals, structure accountability, and develop an overall implementation plan to ensure that the child has a framework in place to ensure his or her success. Table members network in their congregations/organizations and in the community to secure resources to support the implementation plan.
Backed by research and over fourteen years of successful implementation, the Open Table initiative is a program NECIC is excited to offer to the North End community. The mentors receive rigorous training to prepare them for the opportunity of intervening and making a difference in the lives of local young people. There is already a group of six to eight mentors eager and ready to go, with a second group launching soon. The Open Table initiative is yet another way in which NECIC is able to partner with the community to affect real, lasting change.
For more information on NECIC’s initiatives and programs, visit them online at www.necic-ohio.org.
