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Transitional Housing Program
BAYC operates a transitional housing program known as RAFA, or Real Alternatives for Adolescents, which offers safe, independent housing for approximately 30 foster youth ages 16-19 each year. RAFA also serves foster youth who have children or who are six to nine months pregnant. In this program, young people live in apartments in the community, together in groups of two or three with an on-site staff providing 24-7 support and direction. This program is designed to offer youth the opportunity to practice independent living in a safe environment while receiving the support they need to prepare them for long-term economic and social stability. Youth receive stipends sufficient to cover basic living expenses in addition to intensive supportive services: case management, mental health services, life skills training, educational counseling, and vocational training and support. As youth demonstrate increased capacity to support themselves, support services are decreased offering a gradual transition to independent living.
Program Director
Rebecca Hathorn, ASW
Rebecca has been with BAYC since August 2005. She had served as a social worker at BAYC prior to accepting her current position as Director of Transitional Housing Services in May 2008. Prior to joining BAYC, she worked for three years in the foster care unit for the Department of Social Services in Cecil County, MD and has provided outpatient mental health services for children, adolescents and their families, as well as inpatient mental health services for adolescents in a locked psychiatric facility. Rebecca holds a master’s degree in social work from the University of Maryland and is a registered Associated Clinical Social Worker.
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