Funded Partner Spotlight: Golden Generations
In 2023, the Foundation awarded Golden Generations a grant of $250,000 to help young people aging out of the foster care system find housing, local connections, and improved education and job prospects through their My Sistah’s Place program. After suffering storm damage during last year’s hurricane season, My Sistah’s Place just reopened their South St. Pete home, which is poised to offer housing and support to up to four young women in need.
President and founder Juanita Suber brought Golden Generations to St. Petersburg back in 2003. She had just moved to the city after a career in child welfare and social work in Philadelphia and was looking for ways to connect with and give back to her new home. Drawing on her experience in intergenerational programming, she applied for a grant, and Golden Generations was born.
Golden Generations matches young people aging out of the foster care system with older adults who have wisdom and life lessons to offer.
“Intergenerational programming is so effective because it allows both populations to support one another,” Suber explained. “Seniors bring young people knowledge, and young people bring seniors hope.”
Golden Generations has three primary avenues through which it works: My Sistah’s Place, which offers support as well as housing to young women transitioning out of foster care; the CREW (Career Readiness Entrepreneurship Workshops) Program, which helps young people aging out of foster care advance their entrepreneurial goals through connections with our local business community; and the Senior Connections Project, which provides care and assistance to seniors in need through intergenerational programming.
“A lot of youth don’t have mentors, and we at Golden Generations are really big on that,” said Nuavia Stewart, who recently joined the organization as Resident support Specialist, living on-site at the My Sistah’s Place Home to provide 24-hour support. “So many of us wish we wish we had mentors and feel like we’d be a lot further along than we are if we had them.”
Just across the street from Lake Maggiore, the My Sistah’s Place home is a warm and inviting space that can house up to four young women at a time, with plans to possibly expand to six. Since its original opening back in 2018, 11 young women have lived on site after leaving the foster care system. Nine went on to graduate from high school, eight of those went onto some form of higher education, and all 11 were able to move into stable and safe housing when they graduated from the program.
Residents stay for about two years on average. During that time, they gain valuable life skills so that they can effectively cook for themselves, keep their living space clean, manage their finances, advocate for themselves, build connections, stay healthy, achieve goals, and more.
During the intake process, each young woman works with the Golden Generations team to create a ‘New Beginnings Plan,’ where they figure out their goals and craft a timeline and strategy for achieving them. Plans can contain everything from learning to drive and getting a driver’s license to going onto college to reunifying with family members, and more. The young residents meet with a team member at least once a month to check progress, stay accountable, and more.
A crucial part of My Sistah’s Place, Suber says, is building connections with community members to gain confidence, improve health, and more. Once a month, a group of local seniors come over to practice cooking with the girls, teaching them to prepare a meal of their choice. Suber also organizes a monthly ‘Girl Talk’ session where young women from other homes and walks of life come over and they all hang out and talk.
“One time we had a sleepover. We don’t want to prevent our young women from having a personal life,” she explained. “We want them to be able to invite people over, too. This is not a lock-down place. This is a home.”
Golden Generations is now accepting referrals for up to four new residents. They are also looking for mentors as well as volunteers for their Career Readiness Entrepreneurship Workshops (CREW) Program. Learn more on their website at https://goldengenerations.org/index.html.