Imagine FOYER OF PHILADELPHIA

Foyer:

A Foyer provides transitional housing for young adults who have aged out of foster care and/or are homeless.  Foyers are highly developed in the United Kingdom and serving 10,000 young people every year.

All foyers at a minimum provide the following services:

  • Offer a stable and secure community in which young people can support one another and achieve independence.

  • Assist in finding appropriate employment, training or education.

  • Offer  training in basic skills and independent living skills.

  • Assist  in finding permanent accommodations upon completing the program.

History of Foyers:

The Foyer concept originated in France during the early 19th century.  The Bourses du Travail, an organization initiated after the onset of the French trade union movement, provided job-related resources, including education and training, for itinerant workers.  Simultaneously, religious groups in France founded hostels for young people; as more people moved from the countryside to the cities, hostels like these became increasingly widespread.

In the wake of World War Two, the owners of youth hostels established the Union des Foyers de Jeunes Travailleurs (UFJT), which urged the French government to improve conditions for the cities young workers by funding the modernization of the hostels.  The governments investment in this modernization effort expanded the function of the hostels: education and training become incorporated into the resources provided young people at he hostels.

The Foyer concept has since become highly developed in the United Kingdom.  A federation established in the UK in 1992 oversaw the creation of no fewer than 40 Foyers in the first four years of existence, today there are 130 Foyers across the UK.

Foyers in America:

There are only two examples of Foyers in America; in Minnesota, Booth Brown Homes operates through the Salvation Army, and in New York City, Chelsea Foyer operates through a collaboration with Common Ground and Good Shepherd.  Foyer of Philadelphia intends to be the third in America and the only Foyer in the world serving LGBTQ young adults.