About
About HEY

History
HEY was started by United Way of the Bay Area in 1999 as a community-based, collaborative response to the challenges facing youth who emancipate, or age out, of the foster care system.

Originally our work was mainly focused on advocating for the housing needs of these youth—in fact we were originally called Housing for Emancipated Youth—but since then we have recognized the network of support necessary for youth and young adults to become self sufficient.  Our work has now grown to include advocacy for education, health, employment and housing.

Mission
HEY’s mission is to strengthen and connect San Francisco’s systems of support for Bay Area foster care youth so that all youth emancipating or aging out of the foster care system can enjoy a healthy transition to adulthood.

Vision
Our vision is that all foster youth transitioning into adulthood have the resources to navigate the systems that impact their lives, have a sense that they belong to a family and are connected in a community that provides the support they need to fulfill their dreams.

Methods
HEY is the one organization in San Francisco that works specifically towards the strengthening of systems of service for emancipated foster care youth across sectors.  We work to support a variety of solutions to the issues facing foster youth aging out of the system with a focus on housing, employment, education, and health care. We do this by:

• Serving as an information hub for the local community on current and former foster care youth issues

• Identifying issues and trends and advocating for policy alignment in order to promote best practices

• Convening stakeholders and providers and providing ongoing training and networking opportunities

• Raising public awareness and developing education materials for all community members

As a local intermediary organization, HEY convenes local foster care stakeholders (including current and former foster youth, and the public, private, and nonprofit sectors) and connects stakeholders to common issues.  In doing this work HEY helps to sustain what is successfully supporting foster care youth and challenge what is not.  Additionally HEY develops educational materials and provides training and technical assistance to help promote the long-term commitment to supporting foster care youth.  HEY focuses its work on four key areas: housing, health, education, and employment. 

To accomplish our mission, our approach is one of partnership and collaboration.  Click here for a list of our current and past partners.

By harnessing our collective strengths, HEY has the unique capacity to increase awareness of the ongoing needs of foster youth and to advocate on their behalf, ultimately making a greater policy impact than any single agency could achieve on its own.

Our Goal

• Increase awareness of the issues facing former foster youth

• Promote a diversity of voices, experiences, and solutions in addressing the issues of former foster youth by including youth and direct service providers in finding solutions

• Leverage existing resources from across sectors and fields to best support former foster youth

• Promote policies and practices that will result in long term opportunities in housing, education, health, and employment for former foster youth

Our staff have expertise on up-to-date foster care policies and provide information on current legislation, initiatives, funding, and other opportunities to organizations, companies, and agencies working with foster youth.

To find out more about our specific accomplishments, go to the Issues section of our website.