Community Response, a nonprofit serving youth aging out of state foster care, now has a permanent home after renting office space for 12 years. Community Response and All Health Concerns, LLC celebrated with an open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony Saturday, June 21, at 6744 Olive Blvd. University City Mayor Shelley Welsch cut the red ribbon as Community Response Founding Executive Director Barbara McGhee looked on.
“We’re hoping to establish ourselves in the community as a resource for all our children and families in need,” McGhee said.
From the outside, the 2,800-square-foot building in University City could be mistaken for a residence. The building has three offices and classroom space in the basement for meetings and workshops. Community Response shares an office location with Innerstrength, LLC, which provides counseling and hynotherapy services, and All Health Concerns, which offers “whole health consultations.”
Mark Baden of Royal Banks and Robert Boyle of Justine Petersen attended the ceremony. Royal Banks is a community bank that prides itself on helping local businesses grow, Baden said. Justine Petersen loaned McGhee 20 percent of the down payment and Royal Banks financed the additional amount, she said.
“It’s not about me, and it’s not about Royal Banks,” Baden said. “This is about Barbara, Community Response and the fantastic job they’re doing in the community.”
Community Response serves as a “surrogate” for young adults whose parent’s parental rights have been terminated, McGhee said. Typically, youth are placed in foster care as a result of abuse, neglect or abandonment, she said. Many youth have lived in an average of 10 foster homes by the time they enroll into Community Response’s Independent Living Program, she added. Currently, there are 16 young adults enrolled in the program.
One program participant who has not yet aged out of foster care said good foster families are hard to come by. McGhee asked that her identity be withheld for confidentiality purposes. She feels like the “black sheep” of the family, she said. She has five younger sisters and she was the only one of her mother’s children that ended up in foster care, she said.
“My whole family wasn’t supportive,” she said. “They made me feel like they didn’t like me anymore. They just dropped me like a cold case.”
She had hoped to be adopted but was told, “No one’s going to want to adopt you. You’re too old.” She was only 14. Next year on January 5, she will celebrate her 21st birthday and is uncertain about her future.
She said, “As soon as midnight hits on your birthday, no help whatsoever.”
Community Response’s Independent Living Program provides young adults between 18 and 20 years old with housing, a case manager, a therapist or life coach, educational, job and life skills training. McGhee contracts with the state Department of Social Services- Children’s Division.
“Our goal is to make sure that at 21 when they age out of foster care they are as prepared as possible to live on their own,” McGhee said.
McGhee also told the crowd that Community Response has secured a 30-unit building at Hamilton and Cabanne Avenues and is working with funders to purchase the property, she said. By having its own building, Community Response would be able to serve more young adults in need, McGhee said. The building would also house additional office space, a fitness center, common area, computer lab and a day care, McGhee said. Community Response will soon launch an Indiegogo campaign to raise $150,000.
“We’ve spoken with some funders, and we need that amount to be competitive,” McGhee said.
Follow this reporter on Twitter: @BridjesONeil.
