Academy Stay: Housing and Hope for Former Foster Youth

I would love to hear your thoughts on this episode. Please send me a text...In this episode, I'm speaking with Jenny Davidson, founder and CEO of Academy Stay, to talk about one of the most difficult transitions a young person can face: aging out of foster care without a stable place to live or a dependable family safety net.Jenny’s journey to Academy Stay is deeply personal. After losing her youngest son, Jordan, in 2005, she returned to college in her late 30s, earned both an undergraduate degree and an MBA, and continued a career devoted to helping people impacted by domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking and the child welfare system.Years later, a friend asked her a simple question: If you could do anything in the world, what would you do?Her answer brought her back to foster youth.Jenny says 93% of foster youth want to attend college or trade school someday, yet fewer than 4% graduate. As she researched why, three barriers kept emerging: housing instability, financial insecurity and the absence of a consistent community or family.Academy Stay was created to address all three.Its Sacramento property provides fully furnished housing for former foster youth ages 18 to 24 who are pursuing college or trade school. Residents also receive Wi-Fi, utilities, life-skills education, financial literacy, transportation assistance, mentoring and the everyday support many of us simply learned from family.Jenny calls what these young adults need a “gentle pause”, enough stability to stop concentrating on survival and begin focusing on education, independence and what comes next.We also talk about Academy Stay’s first 14 graduates, its impressive network of community partners, the importance of teaching life skills from “square one,” the value of CASA relationships, and a simple story involving rosemary from the community garden that showed Jenny something much bigger was beginning to happen: community.Academy Stay is not simply providing housing. It is creating dignity, belonging and an opportunity for young adults to build a future.Learn more, donate, volunteer or apply at AcademySTAY.org.Chapter Timestamps:00:00 — Meet Jenny Davidson & the Story Behind Academy Stay 03:42 — Why Foster Youth Struggle to Finish College 06:42 — Inside Academy Stay’s Housing Model 09:42 — Building Community: The Rosemary Story 12:00 — Partnerships, Education & Support Services 15:42 — From Homelessness to Higher Education 19:42 — Advocating for Foster Youth & Housing Resources 23:42 — Teaching Life Skills From “Square One” 26:42 — 14 Graduates & the Vision for Expansion 33:42 — Academy Stay’s Greatest Needs & How to HelpThank you so much for listening to this nonprofit story!  We appreciate you. Please visit the website to sign up for our email updates and newsletter. https://www.nonprofpod.com/  And if you like, leave me a voicemail to comment on the program, leave a question for us to ask in the future or a message for me, Jeff Holden. I may even use your voice mail message in a future episode of one of our incredible local nonprofit organizations. https://www.nonprofpod.com/voicemail. Thanks again for your support in listening, commenting and sharing the great work our local nonprofits are accomplishing.