Decatur offers housing for foster children transitioning to adulthood

New housing for former foster care children

A non-profit is opening a living community in Decatur for children transitioning out of foster care. The grand opening for the community is on Jan. 28. 

DECATUR, Ga. - A new transitional living community in Decatur will soon provide housing and support for young adults who aged out of foster care.

What we know:

The Oaks on East Lake Drive will officially open on Wednesday at 11 a.m.

The renovated apartment complex can house 29 former foster children. 

Each resident will have their own bedroom, while sharing a kitchen and a bathroom. 

The Oaks will soon house 29 young adults across three buildings.

"Seven hundred kids age out each year, and when they choose to check themselves out of the child welfare system, they're really on their own,"  said Lee Ann Else, vice president of external relations for Wellroot Family Service. "Often, couchsurfing, they can experience homelessness and sometimes trafficking."

Wellroot Family Services broke ground on the project in 2023 with the help of federal funding. 

The organization plans to open the complex at a formal ceremony on Wednesday morning. Already, Wellroot has helped 11 young adults move into an apartment like this one and expects to have them all filled after the ribbon-cutting.

Without guidance after aging out of foster care, young adults can experience homelessness and sometimes trafficking. Wellroot plans to have staff on hand 24-7 to help young adults make the transition to adulthood.

"They need an adult alongside them," Else said. "When they write their resume, when they go for a job interview, when they learn to tie a tie."

By the numbers:

There are more than 11,612 children in foster care in the state of Georgia. 

664 are aged 17 and about to age out of care.

Nearly 800 would qualify for transition-age youth services, such as Wellroot's Transitional Living Program. 

What's next:

Georgia's Division of Family and Children Services will refer former foster children to the residence after a walkthrough of the site. 

Wellroot Family Services also has another transitional living project in the works in Decatur called "The Canopy," at the former site of the Avondale Pattillo United Methodist Church.