Why First Place?
First Place is designed to transition a young adult who is coming out of foster care from dependence to independence. It is to for the former foster youth who is wondering, “How am I going to get an apartment without a cosigner?” and also “Who can I ask for help navigating this?”
First Place will help youth establish rental history and credit history, helping them become eligible to rent an apartment. In addition youth may be eligible for a refund of their program fees to pay for their first/last month’s rent at their next apartment along with their security deposit. With 2 years of rental history and a year of utlities payments, and a letter of recommendation from Kids Belong as their previous landlord, youth will be in an excellent position to obtain their own apartment at the end of the program.
First Place is not a group home. Residents will live in their own 1 bed/1 bath apartment. They will be accountable to the Program Director and have the support of a First Place mentor to help them achieve their goals. School OR work Or a combination of the two will be required. Youth will also be responsible to the program agreement during their time in the program.
Some youth who have already spent time in transitional group homes may benefit from First Place. There are many other excellent life-skills programs out there. With independent living skills already achieved, First Place is an affordable and supportive environment to fill in the gap between those programs and fully independent adulthood.
First Place is affordable. Between program fees and rent, First Place begins at a total of $350 per month. But it is also important to establish a budget to pay a market rate rental price, so over the course of 2 years the rent and fees will step up gradually until they combine for around $800 per month. Like exercising muscles and increasing the weight slowly over time, youth will build up their budget strength until they are strong enough and have a budget established that will pay a fair rental price.
First Place helps make the transition into the next apartment. Youth who complete the program will be eligible to request their program fees be paid directly to their next landlord for first/last month’s rent, a potential total of $1800. In addition, they will build up a security deposit of up to $600 of the course of two years. Youth who finish the program in good standing may also be eligible to keep the apartment furnishings (bed, couch, table, kitchenwares) and move them into their next apartment.
Download and read the program overview
This will give you an understanding of the program and the lease requirements in one document, as well as program fees and rent schedules.