COVID-19 poses a special risk to more than 30,000 foster youth going to college in California.
While other students can often turn to family for emergency help with everything from housing to internet access, many foster youth have had no safety net to fall back on. Until now.
John Burton Advocates for Youth (JBAY) is collaborating with Together We Rise and funders from California College Pathways to help current or former foster youth with college during the pandemic. Together they have created the COVID-19 Safety Net Fund, a rapid response fund to ensure campus programs and nonprofits have immediate access to resources to help foster youth stay in college. Funds can be used to help students with housing, groceries, utilities, travel, health care, educational technology, and other expenses.