Finally Family Homes hosted its second annual Poker and Bingo night on Saturday at Egg Plantation in Newhall. Proceeds will benefit the organization’s efforts to provide resources for young adults who have aged out of the foster care system or face challenges such as homelessness and instability.
According to the local organization’s website, they aim to make a difference by collaborating with young adults, and empower them “to take ownership of their future” for success.
During Saturday’s evening filled with poker chips and bingo, Christina Dronen, executive director of Finally Family Homes, was filled with gratitude as she witnessed approximately 75 people fill the restaurant to support her work.
“It makes me feel grateful, because I’m seeing the need up close on a daily basis,” she said. “It’s a growing need that we have more and more … we’ve served over 350 kids.” Throughout its time, Finally Family Homes has served young adults who graduate from the program and move on to long-term stability, she added.
Event coordinator Heidi Leonhardt began volunteering with the organization four years ago and was compelled to do so because she herself was in the foster care system for a year when she was a young girl.
“I didn’t like it, it was hard,” she said, recalling her personal experience.
Leonhardt’s focus is creating programming for the Oasis Santa Clarita Resource Center, one of the organization’s many services located in Newhall. There she works toward bringing in motivational speakers who can serve as inspiration for the young adults, and other fun activities to help them form a community.
It’s important to provide such support because “they feel lost, they don’t [think] people care, and we do care. We always tell them ‘This is your safe place,’” Leonhardt said. She also has noticed that many of the young adults who walk into Finally Family Homes “come in scared” but eventually, with the support they receive from others, “they end up leaving with a smile on their face.”
Young adults ages 18 to 26 are encouraged to visit the resource center at 24782 Valley Street, Suite B, Newhall.
“We have specific support for helping anybody who’s at risk of or experiencing homelessness. Our specialty is helping kids aging out of foster care, but we do serve other youth aside from that. We don’t want to turn anybody away,” Dronen said.
