Elevate U

Elevate U Hero Image

Team Members: Art Elsey, Cheryl Garrison, Jodey Harper, West Hyler, Stephanie Knobel, Geniece Crawford Mondé, Alma Olmeda

 

The National Alliance to End Homelessness finds that approximately 550,000 youth will experience homelessness at some point in their lives. Many of these young people will also enter the foster care system. As the National Foster Youth Institute (NFYI) reports, approximately 50% of our nation’s homeless population were at one time also a part of the foster care system. In South Carolina, where over 3,330 children and teenagers are in the foster care system (as of 2024), the issue of youth homelessness remains a significant challenge. This concern is nowhere more clearly illustrated than in Greenville County, which has one of the highest numbers of foster care youth across the Palmetto State’s forty-six counties.  Because nearly 25% of former foster youth will experience homelessness within the four years after they leave the foster care system, the need to help this population of young people find gainful employment and achieve economic and social independence is one of the most pressing needs facing the city of Greenville. For many young adults, social connections and resources that support skill building, also known as social capital, are developed during college or through mentorship and family connections. However, for young adults who must navigate homelessness or were in the foster care system, building social capital can be a daunting challenge.

Elevate U supports social capital building opportunities for unhoused young adults by connecting them with leading industry professionals who will prepare them for interviews and potentially offer them employment.

Project Mission: To support the professional social network and social capital relationships of young adults exiting the foster care system supporting employment opportunities, leading to social and economic independence.

Project Objectives:

  • Fill the social capital gap experienced by young adults (18-30) overcoming the obstacle of homelessness.
  • Connect young adults to local professionals willing to participate in a social networking event, where they interview young adults, provide advice and follow up with employment opportunities.
  • Reduce young adult homelessness for one young person at a time in the Upstate by providing employment opportunities for young adults exiting the foster care system.

Additional Benefits:

  • Local employers identify prospective employees that they might not meet in conventional job fairs.
  • Prepare young adults for the interviewing process in a supportive and affirming environment.

Meet other fellows from this class.