Host Home Program

Safe and stable housing improves youth physical and mental health, educational engagement, employment, and other quality of life determinants. Host Homes provide youth the stability they need to access care, reengage with school, seek employment, and gain the skills they need to transition to independent adulthood.

By partnering with A Family for Every Child, Host Homes make an enduring difference in the lives of our community’s youth.

Becoming a Host Home Provider

Requirements

Host Home providers must:

Have an available, private bedroom in their home that contains a bed, window, and space for the youth to store their belongings.
Have at least one resident in the home who is 21 or older.
Pass a fingerprint-based background check.
Complete the Host Home onboarding process.

Process

Could you be a good fit for the Host Home program? Fill out an application today!

Frequently Asked Questions

Host Home Program

By partnering with A Family for Every Child, Host Homes make an enduring difference in the lives of our community’s youth.

Becoming a Host Home Provider

Requirements

Host Home providers must:

Have an available, private bedroom in their home that contains a bed, window, and space for the youth to store their belongings.
Have at least one resident in the home who is 21 or older.
Pass a fingerprint-based background check.
Complete the Host Home onboarding process.

Process

Could you be a good fit for the Host Home program? Fill out an application today!

Frequently Asked Questions

Mentor Program

Program Overview

Allies Mentors are members of our community supporting at-risk youth as they transition into independent adulthood.

Mentors will partner with their youth's case manager to support goal setting and skill development. Together, mentors and mentees participate in group and individual social activities, share their passions and interests, and work toward identifying and strengthening natural supports for youth.

What is a Mentor?

Mentors are community members who choose to dedicate their time to being allies for youth as they transition into adulthood. Mentors empower youth to take the lead in their lives and help them with the how. They use their lived experience and training from A Family for Every Child to help mentees prepare for challenges and problem-solve barriers.

To become a mentor, you must be:

- - 21+ years old
  - a Lane County resident
  - able to pass a background check

Apply to be a Mentor

Youth We Serve

The Allies Mentor Program serves youth ages 11-24 in Lane County who may typically struggle with finding mentors in their everyday life. Through the Mentor Program, these youth are supported to grow their natural supports and build healthy habits for a healthy adult life.

There are many factors that may cause a youth to be identified as "at risk". These are the markers for eligibility in A Family for Every Child's Mentor Program:

- - Currently homeless or at risk of houselessness
  - Currently in foster care of aged-out of foster care
  - Currently involved in or at-risk of being involved with the juvenile justice system

This includes:

- - - - Having a parent who has been involved with the justice system
        Being at or below the 80% HUD area median income level
        Dropped out or is at risk of dropping out of school
        Comes from a single-parent household

If you are unsure if a youth qualifies for this program, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.

Host Home Overview

Why we need you!

Our Host Home program is an innovative and scalable effort that could move the needle for homeless students. It will save money and lives, but it will take a team.

Reasons you should be involved!

Youth who are “new” to our streets are more likely to become chronically homeless if we do not intervene within 15 nights.
68.4% of homeless students scored below standards. 82.3% of homeless students scored below standard in math and 60.4% of homeless students scored below standard in science.
Youth that have experienced homelessness are 50% more likely not to receive a high school diploma. It is our goal to develop this program to interrupt this cycle and produce education and personal successes for 50 of these homeless youth.
In 2019-20 , we had 1,063 Bethel-Eugene 4J youth experiencing homelessness and 272 of them identified as unaccompanied minors.
For every $1 spent on youth interventions that address homelessness, the community saves $4.12 according to a New Avenues for Youth study (Portland, Oregon 2010).
Oregon estimates that more than 21,000 students in the state experienced homelessness in the 2019-20 school year.
National studies indicate that most of these youth run away due to family conflict or abuse, while others are kicked out of their home and forced to fend for themselves.
We had hoped for better results. The 2019-20 numbers indicate the percentage of unhoused students in the 4J and Bethel school districts have remained unchanged from the previous year at 25.7%.
Last school year, 15th Night Rapid Access Network (RAN) advocates sent alerts on behalf of 162 unaccompanied students with a total of 292 services and resource requested. The most common requests were for basic needs like clothing and shoes, food and shelter. As of the end of the year, 30 local youth-serving organizations (“providers”) are responding to unaccompanied student needs via the 15th Night Rapid Access Network (RAN).

What is 15th Night?

One night on the street is too many. The 15th Night is a community-wide partnership that helps the current Eugene-Springfield students that are navigating homelessness and many are unaccompanied. Bringing together existing community resources, the 15th Night focuses on the safety and well-being of our vulnerable Eugene-Springfield youth who do not have a parent or guardian to support them. These resource teams include at least one representative from the University of Oregon, Bethel School District, Lane County Health and Human Services, the Eugene Police Department, City Councilor Ward 8, Eugene City Manager, Lane ESD, Eugene 4J School District, as well as over 30 area nonprofits.

Our latest effort is to work with individual high schools and their feeder middle schools on creating their own internal response team for homeless youth within their school. This is known as the School Mobilization Model. Our Host Home program is, at its core, working to engage the school’s parent and teacher community, as well as local neighborhood groups and business, to wrap services and support all around these youth. We believe this is a program/effort that is effective, innovative, and could be reproduced in any community.

Working Together To Protect Our Youth!

Here in Eugene/Springfield, homelessness is a wide-spread issue that many organizations have been grappling with for years. Many people turn to the Eugene Mission, or other shelters in our community, to seek temporary housing, especially during the cold winter months. However, if you are an unaccompanied youth and you are experiencing homelessness, you do not have access to adult shelters. This leaves youth with 12 (7 during COVID restrictions) beds at the one shelter we have for under 18 and 13 beds at another for youth indentifyling as female. Youth under the age of 18 are also unable to access many food distribution resources and resource centers due to their status as a minor.

AFFEC's Host Home Program is licensed through the state of Oregon. As one of the few licensed Host Home programs in the state, we are able to assist youth ages 0-15 years old. Youth 16+ and home providers are not required to go through the licensed program. We take pride in successfully completing the licensing process and are also very committed to assisting other blooming Host Home programs throughout the state.

The RAN technology was updated over the summer based on feedback from our community advocates and network of 30+ service providers. RAN 2.0 was successfully launched in late September and enables school specific RANs to be connected to the larger Community RAN.

The 15th Night expanded into Springfield this fall. Springfield Public Schools and the Springfield Police Department can now access the 15th Night RAN on behalf of students experiencing homelessness. Catholic Community Services, First Place Family Shelter, Whitebird Dental, and the Eugene Mission have all joined the 30+ network of providers who responded in real time to alerts.

Sometimes the 15th Night Network is unable to meet a specific need of a student. This is where our Community Responder volunteers step into action. Over 50 people have volunteered to receive alerts from the 15th Night when there is a need that is hard to fill like special clothing, shoes, or gift cards for food.

Even students are stepping up for each other. The Economic Justice League (EJL) for homeless and economically-challenged youth was created at South Eugene High School. Along with 15th Night, we are working to execute the vision of keeping kids in school and supporting those struggling with housing. One of South Eugene’s projects is opening a drop-in center for students to get help, support, and access to resources. This includes food throughout the school day as well as free dinners-to-go, access to computers and technology, washer and dryer, free counseling, and much more. The goal is to have this room open before school, during lunch, and after school for any student that needs support. We hope to bring in therapists, artists, performers, hair stylists, barbers, and mentors of all kinds. We plan to have Fancy Dinner nights, Hair/Makeup/Makeover nights, Open Mic/Performance nights, arts and crafts, movie and game nights, and more.

15th Night Rapid Access Network Community Partners are working together to safeguard the 460+ Eugene-Springfield unhoused students who do not have a parent or guardian to support them, or a permanent place to call home. With thanks to their involvement, the 15th Night community movement can prevent Eugene-Springfield youth from going out on the street, and intervene quickly if they do. This partnership includes many state / government resource and over 30 community nonprofits that all make a commitment to work together.

How Does AFFEC Fit Into the 15th Night Partnership?

A Family For Every Child provides three of their services to the youth serves by the 15th Night Network: Family Finding, Mentor and Host Home Programs. AFFEC has been providing both mentoring and family finding to the community for almost a decade and added the Host Home Porgram in 2018.

To learn more about...
Host homes and how to become one, click here

We are also looking for community members to join the movement and volunteer in a number of ways. If you are interested in volunteering in either capacity:

Fill out a volunteer application.

Select the appropriate boxes for either mentor, family finding volunteer, or host home.

A Family For Every Child

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Mentor Resources

Becoming A Mentor

Any volunteers that have the privilege of working with children must go through an extensive clearing process. This is a step by step guide on what the requirements are for becoming a mentor, as well as resources to assist mentors once they are matched.

Step 1: Completing a Volunteer Application

The first step in beginning the mentor process is completing a volunteer application. A Family For Every Child's volunteer application requires all volunteers to sign a confidentiality statement. This means that all volunteers are subject to liability if they reveal confidential or identifying information about a child. This is particularly poignant for mentors since they spend one on one time with the child/children. The volunteer application also lists a series of mentor questions to help staff identify what the mentor's interests and hobbies are, as well as what their lifestyle might be like. It is not mandatory to complete the entire questionnaire when filling out the volunteer application, because all mentors must also complete an in home interview.

Step 2: In-Home Interview

All mentors must participate in an in-home interview. An AFFEC staff member will contact you in order to schedule a time when which he or she may come to the potential mentor's home and talk with them about the program as well as what the mentor envisions what the mentor/mentee relationship will look like. The AFFEC representative may review questions that were originally on the volunteer application for further clarification.

Step 3: The Background Check

All mentors and any adult living in their homes are subject to a criminal background check. After completing the background check, you will receive a series of emails that need to be responded to accordingly and will prompt you to get your fingerprints taken at a designated location. The request will time out in 21 days, so it is important to do this as soon as possible.The potential mentor's fingerprints are then sent to the state and the FBI. Background checks usually take 1-3 weeks to be fully processed, and must come back "approved" for a mentor to be matched with a child.

Step 4: Mentor Orientation

Furthermore, mentors are required to attend a mentor orientation. The mentor orientation reviews important topics, such as the program's requirements, the population we work with, the mentor match process, mandatory reporting, effective communication, and match closure. The orientation is the first step in learning about mentoring and working with a child, however, the orientation should not be expected to have "all the answers." For this reason, mentor volunteers also receive monthly training webinars and access to extra resources.

Mentor Assisted Life Skills

A Family For Every Child is proud to offer the Mentor Assisted Life Skills Program to help support mentors and mentees in our Mentor Program. The mission of this branch is to support youth educationally through providing them with the life skills they need in order to live as successful adults.

What is Mentor Assisted Life Skills Training?

We pair mentors with youth who will work on developing life skills together. Mentors and mentees will be offered a curriculum that includes information on how to handle one's finances, healthcare, cooking, and more. This program will better prepare children who are at risk of "aging out" of foster care and living on their own. These classes in conjunction with the mentors' support will aid in the success of each child becoming a self sufficient adult!

These fun and informative classes are held on a monthly basis, and we hope to increase that number soon. These classes are not only learning opportunities, but they’re opportunities for foster youth to meet their peers.

If you are interested in helping with our Mentor Assisted Life Skills classes, please email mentor@afamilyforeverychild.org.

Community Mentor

National Mentor Partnership Program

Would you like to change the life of a foster child?

Many of our organizations do wonderful things to help foster children. Are you looking for other ways that can make a huge impact on the youth in your area? Start a mentor program and we are here to help.

A Family for every child was started in 2006 and has developed many successful programs to help youth in foster care. One of our most successful programs is our mentor program. Our goal for our mentor program is to create meaningful mentoring relationships that will help increase the odds for future success for the young person. Studies show that surrounding foster care youth with positive role models will help increase their odds for future success.

Mentoring relationships can play a huge role in helping foster youth reach their potential and have healthy successful lives. Research shows that youth who are mentored are 45 percent less likely to use illicit drugs; 59 percent more likely to succeed in school; and 73 percent more likely to attain higher life achievement goals. Foster youth are moved from school to school and home to home. They lack stability and permanency. It is our responsibility to ensure that these youth have the opportunity to build lasting relationships. These youth can learn to thrive when someone gives them the time and energy to show they care.

Want to set up a mentor program in your area?

The mentor support system provides guidelines on how to build new mentor programs and/or successfully help strengthen your old program. It focuses on designing and planning the program, managing the program and sustaining the program. As Oprah Winfrey once said, "A mentor is someone who allows you to see the hope inside yourself."

We will provide the following assistance for agencies working with "at risk" youth.

Selecting the management team for your organization.
Developing a financial plan
Promoting the program
Building relationships with Department of Human Services, therapists, schools.
Building relationships with community partners.
Recruiting mentors.
Training, screening, background checks on mentors.
Matching process.
Monitoring and support of the mentor/mentee relationship.
Closure
Evaluation of the program's success.
Sustaining the program.