- According to your likes/dislikes, THRU Project can match & pair you with a volunteer mentor. They will provide a listening ear and a support system for you.
- We can help a bus pass to help with transportation
- We can provide a cell phone and service plan to connect you to your mentor, your employer, your teachers/professors, and help you keep yourself informed!
- We can connect you with safe & affordable housing with our housing programs.
- Learning life lessons can be a drag, but we make it FUN in THRU Project! Come to our Life Skills events and bring your mentor and make it a date, meet other youth who are going through after care, and come away with questions answered!
THRU PROJECT PROGRAMS
Below are some of FAQs from youth and a list of all programs offered by THRU Project. If we don’t have a program that matches the needs of our youth, we have spent years building strong, networked connections within the community. If we don’t have the connections to meet a need, then we will make them.
WHAT AGES DOES THRU PROJECT HELP?
FOR THOSE PREPARING TO EXIT FOSTER CARE:
THRU Project can help youth ages 14-18
FOR THOSE WHO HAVE LEFT FOSTER CARE:
THRU Project can help foster youth ages 18+
WHAT SERVICES DOES THRU PROJECT PROVIDE?
OUR PROGRAMS
VOLUNTEER MENTOR PROGRAM
FOR FOSTER YOUTH & THOSE WHO WANT TO VOLUNTEER TO HELP OUR YOUTH
Every youth who becomes a part of THRU Project is matched and paired with a volunteer mentor. Our mentors serve to be a stable guidance to our youth during their transition into adulthood. They are not caseworkers or foster parents, but they are oftentimes the first person in the youth’s life who hasn’t been paid for by the state. They volunteer to share with their youth their own life lessons and experiences to help guide them towards success!
COMMUNICATION: CELLPHONE & SERVICE PLAN PROGRAM
FOR FOSTER YOUTH PREPARING TO AGE OUT & FOR FORMER FOSTER YOUTH
Every youth who enters our program is eligible to receive a free cell phone & service plan. THRU Project created its cell phone program because we believe that in removing this barrier we can dramatically improve not only mental health and wellness but the overall success outcomes of our foster youth. This program really works in tandem with our volunteer mentor program as a phone-in-hand serves as an important lifeline between mentor and mentee.
HOUSING: SUPERVISED INDEPENDENT LIVING & NEXT STEP PROGRAM
FOR YOUTH WHO HAVE SIGNED BACK INTO FOSTER CARE AND FORMER FOSTER YOUTH
Housing is the most basic need for any human being. Over 50% of this nation’s homeless population were once part of the foster care system. THRU Project has two programs in place to provide stable & affordable housing for youth. Our SIL or Supervised Independent Living Program is for foster youth who have aged out but signed themselves back into foster care. Our Next Step Housing Program is for those youth who have already exited the system.
TRANSPORTATION: FREE VIA BUS PASS PROGRAM
FOR YOUTH PREPARING TO AGE OUT & FORMER FOSTER YOUTH
Affording car insurance, let alone a car, is a luxury that is oftentimes out of reach for youth who age out of foster care. Getting to work everyday, school, appointments would be next to impossible in a commuter city like San Antonio without the public transit system. Every youth who joins THRU Project is given a renewable 6-month bus pass to ride VIA buses for free. Breaking down the transportation barrier is absolutely crucial for our youth to achieve success employment and/or higher education.
LIFE SKILLS: LEARNING IMPORTANT LIFE LESSONS
FOR YOUTH PREPARING TO EXIT FOSTER CARE & YOUTH WHO HAVE AGED OUT
THRU Project’s programs cover a majority of basic needs — communication, housing, and transportation — and our Life Skills program bridges an important gap that foster teens face while in care which is they receive little to no support when it comes to learning these important skills in preparation for adulthood.