Roots & Wings awarded grant
The Foundation is again happy to support the work of Roots and Wings with a $25,000 grant.
Roots & Wings was established in 1999 in Morris County, New Jersey. Their mission is to provide young
adults who age out of the foster care system in New Jersey with safe housing, educational support, case
management, counseling, and life skills in order to empower them toward self-sufficiency.
Without an adequate system in place, studies show that aged out foster care youth are among the most
disconnected and statistically vulnerable segment in society. Ranging in ages of 18 to 24, these individuals
who have aged out of foster care face are at a great risk to face food insecurities, early pregnancies,
addictions, interpersonal violence, prostitution, and incarceration.
Roots & Wings works to provide holistic programs and services that are aimed to remediate the deficiencies
in education and socializations that result from the unstable and often abusive childhoods experienced by
their clients. One way Roots & Wings in working to do this is through their RISE program.
The RISE program is the agency’s residential program that presently includes four, two bedroom apartments
in Morris County, NJ, and three, three bedroom apartments in Union County, NJ. The goal of this program is
to meet the immediate needs their clients have regarding housing, food, and medical care, while also working
with the clients a long term plan on becoming self-sufficient, contributing members of a community. Each
client is assigned a case manager to help them along the way, establishing goals and strategies.
Roots & Wings is awarded $25,000 to help with expansion costs of their Union County Rise program.
Roots & Wings was able to open an additional apartment in May of this year and are currently working on
one more apartment to open in September. This apartment will provide safe housing for an additional two
aged out foster care youth for up to 2 years while they receive services and work towards becoming selfsufficient.
Funding will take place in 2017.