We Support Youth Transitioning from
Foster Care to Independence

1 in 2
don't finish high school

By the age of 19, 47% of Texas foster youth haven't finished high school or earned a GED. By 21, 27% still haven't finished. Seventy percent of aged out youth aspire to attend college, but only 2% of Texas former foster youth earn a college degree.

SOURCE

1 in 3
experience homelessness

More than one-third of youth who age out will experience homelessness by the time they are 26. More than 50% of the homeless population has experience with foster care. One in three homeless teens are lured into sex trafficking within 48 hours of leaving home.

SOURCE · SOURCE · SOURCE · SOURCE

1 in 4
experience incarceration

By the age of 21, 30% of foster youth have criminal justice involvement and 25% experience incarceration. In one study, by age 26, more than 50% of young women and 80% of young men had been arrested.

SOURCE · SOURCE · SOURCE

Our Programs

We support youth through a three-pronged approach.

Relationships

Each participating youth will be teamed up with a trained and caring adult mentor. Not only will they focus on building a relationship and having fun together, but they will also work toward the youth's goals and help establish a foundation for a successful future. Youth may also choose to be matched with a small group that will pray specifically for them and provide an additional network of support.

Resource Connections

We will connect each youth to resources in our community to ensure their needs are met for housing, education, jobs, and more.

Life Skills & Recreation

Youth will learn hands-on life skills with their mentor and in a small group setting. They'll also have the opportunity to participate in a variety of recreational and social events.

get involved

Mentor

Work one-to-one with a youth to help them build the developmental assets they need to thrive in adulthood.

Volunteer

Our volunteers are absolutely critical to our mission. There are a number of different ways you can be involved.

Give

Make a one-time donation or set up monthly gifts. Our generous donors make these programs possible.

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.

Proverbs 31:8-9 (NIV)

Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

James 1:27 (HCSB)

Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.

Psalm 82:3 (NIV)

OUR VISION

Our vision is a community where all youth transitioning from foster care to independence in North Texas are:

  • connected to caring adults who support them,
  • living in a safe place, and
  • earnestly pursuing an education or training that will help them establish a productive life.

OUR MISSION

Our mission is to help North Texas youth with foster care experience (ages 14-24) establish trusting relationships, locate critical resources, and develop the vital skills necessary to begin healing from trauma and succeed in life. This means that we will:

  • connect youth ages 14-24 who have experienced foster care with supportive adults who have been trained as strengths-based, trauma-informed mentors.
  • help meet the physical, educational, and financial needs of the youth by connecting them to resources in the community.
  • introduce youth to new educational and recreational opportunities where they can learn and practice vital life skills with an emphasis on self-advocacy.

OUR VALUES

Our core values are summarized in the following statements:

  • We demonstrate the love of Christ to youth in all of our actions.
  • We understand that healing from trauma occurs in the context of trusting relationships.
  • We provide empathy and motivation through the mentoring relationship.
  • We honor youths' voices in designing and delivering our services.
  • We are trustworthy, responsible, and act with integrity.
  • We promote the welfare, safety, and justice of youth.
  • We respect the rights, dignity, and intrinsic worth of youth.

From the Blog

Miller Family

The Story of the First WAY Alliance Youth

The first youth ever referred to WAY Alliance—before our organization even launched—ended up being adopted by our founder, Joy Miller. Reader’s Digest recently wrote about this young man’s unusual story. Joy Miller first met Logen when he called WAY Alliance, a non-profit she runs that helps teens transition out of foster care. “At first glance, […]

Joy Miller WAY Alliance Foster Care Aging Out

WAY Alliance Featured in the Post-Signal

WAY Alliance and our founder’s adopted son Logen (who aged out of foster care last summer) were featured in a their local newspaper this last week. Read the story below! April 11, 2019 | By Andres David Lopez, Staff Writer Group to connect foster children with mentors Rather than go hungry, Logen Miller said, he […]

bible-biblia-book-1112048

What is a WAY Alliance Small Group?

A WAY Alliance Small Group is matched with a specific youth in our program and consists of at least eight adults over the age of 24. In some cases, a youth’s mentor might even be one of the members of the Small Group.