The Chelsea Foyer at the Christopher at Five Years: Lessons in Developing Stable Housing and Self-Sufficiency For Homeless Youth and Youth Exiting Foster Care

The Chelsea Foyer at the Christopher is a transitional housing program for youth aging out of foster care and youth who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Launched in 2004 as partnership between Common Ground Community and Good Shepherd Services, the Chelsea Foyer at the Christopher has served 165 young people between the ages of 18-25, providing up to two years of transitional housing in conjunction with a rigorous, developmentally-appropriate program designed to prepare young people for self-sufficiency upon discharge. Based on a British model successful in reducing youth homelessness, the Chelsea Foyer at the Christopher was launched to test model viability in the U.S. and help address the growing problem of homelessness after foster care in New York City. Young adults who age out of the foster care system are at extremely high risk for homelessness. Nationally, between 20 to 25 percent of the 25,000 who leave care every year experience at least one instance of homelessness. In New York City, roughly 1,200 young people leave care annually with no adult support. The Chelsea Foyer at the Christopher is designed as a 40-unit independent residence housed within Common Ground’s Christopher Residence, a 207-unit permanent supportive housing complex for low-income and formerly homeless adults. The Chelsea Foyer at the Christopher has a separate entrance, common space, offices and facilities. Good Shepherd Services is tenant to Common Ground and runs the Foyer program. The Chelsea Foyer at the Christopher partnership between Common Ground and Good Shepherd Services marries expertise in housing development and management with deep practice knowledge in youth development. It provides an innovative model for communities addressing the problem of youth homelessness. This report documents the first five years of the Chelsea Foyer at the Christopher and aims to offer an honest assessment of successes and challenges as well as lessons learned that may be helpful to others serving this population. Common Ground and Good Shepherd Services gratefully acknowledge the generous support of the Annie E. Casey Foundation in funding this documentation process.

Publication Date: 
2009