Photo by Stephen Oduntan
By Stephen Oduntan
Contributing Writer
SOUTH LOS ANGELES — In a county with more foster youth than 40 U.S. states combined, Los Angeles officials launched a $1 million-a-year initiative April 17 to offer more than just services — they aim to create a sense of permanence.
The You Belong: Foster Youth Initiative is a countywide partnership between the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles, the county Department of Children and Family Services and elected officials. It offers free YMCA memberships to foster youth ages 12–26, along with wraparound mental health care, job training, civic leadership programs, family support and access to drop-in centers across 29 YMCA locations.
The goal, organizers say, is to interrupt the foster care-to-prison pipeline by providing consistency, connection and opportunity.
“You belong here. No matter where you live or move within LA County — you belong at the Y,” said Andrew Crowell, former YMCA board chair and a longtime child welfare advocate.
He recalled meeting two foster siblings at Five Acres in Altadena 25 years ago.
“I couldn’t unsee what they’d been through,” he said. “This isn’t just another project. It’s a passion.”
Assemblywoman Sade Elhawary, who represents part of South Los Angeles and is also a foster parent, brought a deeply personal lens to the launch. She shared the story of Mikaela, a teen she mentored who nearly lost access to school and community support after being removed from her home.
“If she was displaced, she wouldn’t graduate, let alone go to college,” Elhawary said. Today, Mikaela is thriving at Los Angeles Trade Tech — and living with Elhawary in South L.A.
“That’s what investment looks like,” Elhawary said. “That’s what community does.”
Elhawary stressed the need for culturally responsive, trauma-informed care.
“Black, brown, and culturally diverse youth are often failed by the very institutions meant to protect them,” she said. “Aging out shouldn’t mean aging into homelessness or incarceration.”
She also highlighted her authorship of Assembly Bill 1120, which seeks to ensure foster youth — especially Black and brown youth — have access to proper hair care and grooming resources that reflect their cultural identity and dignity.
Speaking with The Wave after the event, Elhawary said the YMCA’s scale and community roots make the program uniquely effective.
“They’re building bridges between community-based organizations and using their 29-location footprint to create consistency,” she said. “This is where Black and LGBT youth, who are overrepresented in foster care, can finally feel seen, supported and safe.”
At the Weingart YMCA Wellness & Aquatic Center in South L.A., YMCA board chair Wendy Greuel opened the press conference with a message to youth.
“You are not alone,” she said. “You are seen. You are valued. And you belong.” She called the initiative a “pinky-swear promise” to those who have been let down by systems.
YMCA President and CEO Victor Dominguez was credited as the driving force behind the initiative, which came together in just six months. A task force convened last fall to address sobering data: 46% of L.A. County foster youth face homelessness, and 42% experience three or more placements in a single year.
Assemblyman Isaac Bryan, who spent his early life in foster care, delivered one of the day’s most personal remarks.
“My mom fostered over 200 children across three decades. She adopted nine of us, including me,” he said. “She believed she could make a difference — one child at a time.”
In a separate conversation with The Wave, Bryan called the initiative “an unprecedented bridge” for the most vulnerable.
“Our foster youth need safe spaces and support systems that don’t disappear when they turn 18,” he said.
Assemblyman Mark Gonzalez drew from his own experience growing up in Section 8 housing.
“This isn’t just a program — it’s a movement,” he said. “A promise of safe spaces, job training, healing, and hope.”
Reflecting on the timing, he likened the launch to a resurrection: “So many youth are carrying burdens no child should have to carry. This initiative is a rising of hope.”
Brandon Nichols, director of Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, emphasized the toll that instability takes on foster youth.
“One of the saddest things I hear from them is, ‘I don’t belong anywhere,’” Nichols said. “But now, the Y belongs to them.”
He praised the YMCA for going beyond services. “It’s not just going to be swim classes and yoga. It’s going to be a space where these kids feel seen, safe, supported — like they finally have a home, no matter what’s happening in the rest of their lives.”
In his closing remarks, Dominguez acknowledged the initiative’s wide network of collaborators — from Covenant House, FosterMore, and Five Acres to LAUSD, community colleges and UCLA. He praised Christopher Jefferson and Mario Valenzuela from his team and announced that the Glendale YMCA, an independent branch, would join the effort — marking 29 participating locations across the county.
“This is about ensuring every child, every adult, every family, every community has a place to belong,” Dominguez said. “We must care. We must lead with love. And if we do, I know we’ll make a difference.”
The program’s first-year funding includes support from Amazon, and organizers are already exploring ways to sustain the effort through philanthropic partnerships and state investment.
“We want to continue to invest in it,” Elhawary said, “because we know the young people who will be impacted long-term.”
Crowell, reflecting on the broader vision, said success won’t be measured by media coverage or attendance figures. “It’ll be measured in thousands of stories — of changed lives,” he said. “That’s how we’ll know this worked.”
Stephen Oduntan is a freelance reporter for Wave Newspapers.
