“The need is great.” Foster home for young men aging out now open in Rocky Mount

FRANKLIN COUNTY, Va. (WDBJ) - A local nonprofit organization opened a home for young men aging out of the foster system last month in Rocky Mount.

Fostering Champions is an organization focused on improving the lives of foster children by giving them the resources to be successful on their own. WDBJ7 spoke to the man behind the plan about how his mission is changing the lives of many.

“This home specifically is for foster teens who want to do something with their life. They’re hoping to go into a career, they’re hoping to go into a trade, they want their life to be meaningful, but they don’t have any support,” said Fostering Champions Founder & CEO Bobby Canipe. “We lead them either to college, to trade school or whatever it is that they need as far as resources to become successful in life.”

Canipe founded Fostering Champions three years ago, with a mission of helping teens aging out of foster care by providing resources like housing, life skills, transportation and education.

“About two and a half years ago, we started on this journey of building a home for aging-out foster teens, knowing that over 20% of foster teens, they’re immediately homeless once they age out of the system and so we wanted to provide that for them,” he said.

The two-story home can house four young men between 18 and 21. There is a bathroom for each suite and has two common areas that include kitchens and laundry rooms on both floors. There are currently two people occupying the home.

“Each room has a tiny refrigerator for them, and they’re all furnished with beds with dressers with desk and with TVs. So, they all have their own lockable suite and each one of our homes that we build will be that way,” he added.

They’re able to stay for three years, with the first two focused on building life skills while their last year is designed to help them save up for a place of their own. They are expected to follow the rules of the program while they stay.

“No alcohol. No drugs. We don’t allow people of the opposite sex to stay into the home. You know, things like that, so we do have boundaries for them. They’re not allowed to have anybody spend the night more than three times a month,” he expressed. “We do have the rules that protect us and protect them.”

Canipe tells WDBJ7 he grew up in the foster care system, so being a resource to young people in need is very important to him.

“It’s important for aging-out foster teens to have resources because the statistics show that 70% of the girls are pregnant by 21. It shows that 50% of the boys are incarcerated by 21,” said Canipe. “Not to mention the amount of foster kids that are vulnerable and are human trafficked and so the need is great.”

A need that he is committed to fulfilling, Canipe was able to build and furnish the home off generous donations from the community.

He plans to open a similar home for girls aging out of the system before the end of the year and hopes to expand his efforts all throughout the commonwealth.