The living room of one unit within the new Transitional Living apartment building
The bedroom of one apartment, complete with a desk for schoolwork
The living room of an apartment on the first floor
Chambliss Center for Children celebrated the completion of a new six-unit apartment building to be used for youth “aging out” of foster care.
The new building was purchased with funds from an anonymous donor, and construction was completed earlier this month.
Each apartment unit was furnished by local nonprofit organization Homes and Havens utilizing a trauma-informed design approach to create welcoming places of respite for teens entering the Transitional Living Program.
“We’re honored we get to meet that need for some of the roughly 900 youth who turn 18 in foster care in Tennessee each year,” said Jon Berestecky, the Transitional Living specialist at Chambliss Center for Children. “It’s encouraging to know there are individuals in our community willing to step up and provide what’s needed for these young people to get a shot at futures they dream of.”
Chambliss Center for Children’s Transitional Living Program is designed to assist youth who are aging out of the foster care system. In addition to housing, this program offers counseling and training in basic life skills, such as financial planning and budgeting, cooking, interviewing and job readiness.
The first four tenants of the new living spaces will move into their new apartments this week, and the remaining two apartments will be occupied in August.