Keys to a Brighter Future
Think of the person who taught you to drive.
Or the person who showed you how to make a simple pasta when you moved into your first apartment.
Or the person who introduced you to a favorite hobby.
Everything we do in our daily lives that feels natural now began with someone pointing us in the right direction. We all needed an adult to help us navigate the complexities of everyday life. Whether it was a parent, teacher, coach or colleague, someone helped us along the path to adulthood and assured us that we weren’t alone.
But for young people experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity, those connections are few and far between. Many who grow up in foster care move from home to home without a steady adult to call for support, guidance, or reassurance — and when youth age out of the system at 18, many, including Boys & Girls Aid Compass participant Kiara, are forced into homelessness with no one to turn to.
“It’s really tragic growing up in foster care,” Kiara explains. “You spend so much of your life just going from home to home, and it feels like your childhood gets ripped away from you. And then you eventually just get thrown out with nowhere to go and no one to help you.”
Kiara has always prided herself on her perseverance and strong work ethic. She’s the kind of person who shows up, puts in the hours, and does whatever it takes to build a foundation for her future. “If there’s one thing I want people to know about me, it’s that I’m a really hard worker and that if I set my mind to something, I can always get the job done,” she says.
Despite her determination, the realities of the local housing shortage made finding a way out of homelessness feel almost impossible. “I really was just trying to survive, and even though I was working a lot, I couldn’t find anywhere to stay that I could afford,” she remembers.
After five months without stable housing, Kiara was referred to Boys & Girls Aid’s Compass program by her DHS caseworker. At the time, it felt less like a choice and more like the only path forward. The Compass, built for young people aging out of foster care, gave her an affordable apartment in an agency-owned fourplex in Beaverton, along with case management and skill-building support. What started as a last resort quickly proved to be a real opportunity.
“It felt like my only option,” she recalls. “I was really just trying to find an affordable, safe place to live, but Boys & Girls Aid ended up doing a lot more to help me feel independent.”
Not long after she moved in, Kiara met with Compass staff to talk about her goals and how the program could support her. “We create an individualized plan for every young person,” explains Lee Zipprich, Housing Navigator. “Together we set personal goals with a clear timeline, then figure out the resources and support they’ll need to make it happen.”
For Kiara, the first step toward building the life she wanted was clear: she needed a car.
“I was really just trying to find an affordable, safe place to live, but Boys & Girls Aid ended up doing a lot more to help me feel independent.”
“Being reliable is really important to me,” Kiara shares. “I want to always be able to get where I need to be on time, and I want to visit my girlfriend in Salem whenever I can.”
With the support of Boys & Girls Aid and the stability of housing, Kiara finally had the chance to focus on her future. The first step was saving. “A key part of the Compass is helping participants create a safety net,” says Lee Zipprich. “Fifty-five percent of young people ages 18 to 24 live with their parents to save money — the youth in our program don’t have that luxury. For many, it’s the first time they’ve had the breathing room to save for essentials like rent, a reliable car, or college.”
When Kiara had saved up enough to purchase a car, she knew she needed someone on her side to help her through the process. Anyone who’s spent hours at a used car dealership knows that buying a car is no easy feat. Between negotiating a fair price and understanding what’s under the hood, it can feel like you need to be a mechanic just to know what to look for. Kiara turned to Boys & Girls Aid for help.
This kind of guidance is at the heart of the Compass’s approach to skill building. Every two weeks, participants join workshops — planned around what they ask for — on everything from one-pot pasta and budgeting to gardening. “We really listen to what participants need and plan our sessions around that,” says Lee. Some of the most powerful sessions draw on Boys & Girls Aid supporters: “It’s transformative when community members share what they know — it shows there’s a whole community ready to step in when needed.”
This community showed up for Kiara when she asked for help. Boys & Girls Aid connected her with Sue, a longtime board member with a passion for cars and plenty of dealership experience. “Sue is such a sweet, mature, and helpful person,” Kiara says. “She really showed me what to look for in a car, how to get insurance, and what to be careful about.” With Sue’s guidance, Kiara drove away with a reliable car that fit her needs and budget.
As Kiara looks to the future, she’s grateful for the support from Boys & Girls Aid. “Boys & Girls Aid’s programs really help kids like me and provide us with the support we need to keep developing ourselves,” she says. “It’s rare to find a place like this where they actually care about kids and what they’re going through.”
Kiara is just one of many young people who have achieved their goals through Boys & Girls Aid’s housing programs like the Compass. Stories like hers are common — and they’re possible because of the ongoing generosity and support of our community.
“It’s transformative when community members share what they know — it shows there’s a whole community ready to step in when needed.”
If you have a skill, hobby, or passion you’d like to share, we encourage you to sign up to volunteer at boysandgirlsaid.org/lend-a-hand. Just as Sue helped Kiara navigate the car-buying process, you could be the person who helps a young person build confidence, discover a new interest, or figure out what to cook for dinner.