With the help of a $10,000 grant from PeoplesBank, “graduation packages” are providing youth in CHD foster care and the agency’s Transitional Independent Living (TILP) program with some of the tools they need to begin their lives outside the foster care system.

CHD MaryAnne’s Kids Fund graduation packages supply these youth with such items as gas and food cards to support them in their first month of living alone, basic cleaning and laundry bundles (mops, brooms, wet wipes, laundry detergent, and laundry baskets), miscellaneous household items, and a car insurance subsidy—paid directly to their car insurance providers by CHD staff.

One of the youth served by TILP, Samantha Lopez (pictured) was given a couch, bed, microwave oven, and a vacuum, and she said she finds the items extremely helpful. “When you are moving into your first apartment, you do not realize how important it is to have these kind of accessories in the home,” she said. “Many kids coming into the program may not have a microwave, a blender, or even a bed, but with CHD being able to provide these things, it helps us out financially, and gives us a lending hand.”

TILP provides placement and casework support to youth aged 17-22, most of whom are aging out of foster care, and places them in CHD-leased community apartments throughout western Massachusetts. 

MaryAnne’s Kids is a special fund that provides opportunities to CHD foster children that would otherwise be out of reach. In this particular ongoing need, it is often difficult for youth who were in foster care to maintain financial stability when they transition out of services because they may lack family support or foundational networks. Many of them struggle to find affordable living options, and are overwhelmed by working multiple jobs to make ends meet.

Over the years, PeoplesBank has been a generous donor to several CHD programs, especially Family Outreach of Amherst and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampshire County.