Like too many young people emancipating from the foster care system in Santa Barbara, "Rachelle" turned 18 and found herself wondering where to go. With very limited financial resources, Rachelle felt her only option was to move in with the same family members that had lost her to foster care just a few years before.

Back under the same roof as her substance-abusing mother, Rachelle took on the burden of caring for her younger siblings while trying to work full time and attend City College. With mounting stress and responsibility, her grades began to plummet and life became too much to handle. While Rachelle still clung to dreams of a college education and a fulfilling career, alcohol all too often became her escape from the pain and hardships she was experiencing.

Rachelle was one of the first 15 residents to move into the My Home transitional living program when it first opened at Artisan Court on March 31 of this year. In partnership with the Housing Authority of Santa Barbara, My Home (part of Channel Islands YMCA's Youth & Family Services) provides emancipating foster youth (ages 18-21) a studio apartment with subsidized rent, as well as on-site case management, counseling, education and employment support, daily living skills and budgeting education, substance abuse prevention, interpersonal development support, and health and wellness workshops.

The $100,000 grant the Women's Fund awarded to My Home in May means that Rachelle and 14 other young people not only have an apartment to call home, they have a new support system. After just five months, there is a change in Rachelle. She has the confidence and smile of a young woman who has just started a new job, re-enrolled at City College, and begun planning for a career in social work.

The Women's Fund grant has made it possible for YFS to build My Home into a program that can help put Rachelle and others on their path to independence.

To learn about more lives - like Rachelle's - that we're helping with our grants, don't miss the 7th Annual Women's Fund Site Visit from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm on Wednesday November 16! This popular event features a bus tour of some of our most recent grantees followed by a luncheon program. This year our lunch will be held at the First Presbyterian Church (Constance & State), which is also where we'll park our cars and board buses for our morning agency tours.

An electronic invitation will accompany our October newsletter (we're saving expenses by not sending printed invitations this year). In the meantime, mark Nov. 16 on your calendar for this always "sold-out" event.

We are very close to reaching our $350,000 threshold of 2011 memberships, contributions and underwriting donations that will trigger Betty Wells' $100,000 matching grant. If you haven't joined yet for 2011, please do so now by clicking here. When we reach our threshold, every dollar donated to the fund by December 31 will be matched 2-for-1, up to $100,000. So please don't delay and join now.

Thank you to Linda Yawitz for underwriting the remaining costs of the membership appeal mailing and Sallie Coughlin for underwriting the ballot postage costs from last spring. These underwriting donations all count towards our 2-for-1 matching grant.