News release
Finally Family Homes announced it has been selected as one of eight winners of the 2024 Aging Out Institute Awards Program, receiving the Flame Award and a $40,000 grant.
The national honor recognizes outstanding organizations that are making a meaningful difference in the lives of youth who are aging out of foster care, according to a news release from Finally Family Homes.
Finally Family Homes was chosen by a panel of peer judges — fellow professionals in the field and past AOI award recipients — for its innovative, youth-centered approach, the release said. Based in Santa Clarita, FFH provides housing support, life skills training, and a welcoming community to help young adults transition from foster care into thriving independence.
The AOI Awards Program celebrates the positive impact and influence of organizations that work with youth who age out of foster care. The awards program supports AOI’s mission to identify and share award winners’ best practices with foster care professionals throughout the world.
“We are thrilled to be recognizing such wonderful organizations this year,” Lynn Tonini, founder and executive director of Aging Out Institute, said in a prepared statement. “This is a peer-judged awards program as the winners from the 2023 AOI Awards Program served as judges this year. This judging model lends significant credibility to the selection of the winning organizations from all the applications we received. We are pleased to be able to support the winners’ programs and look forward to hearing how the funds were utilized to help youth aging out of care transition to adulthood successfully.”
Founded in 2017, the nonprofit Finally Family Homes provides housing support, life skills training, free food, clothing, and toiletries as well as, peer support, and a welcoming drop-in center for transition-aged youth (ages 18–26), most of whom have aged out of the foster care system without family support. The 2024 Flame Award was presented to four small organizations, including Finally Family Homes, Cleveland Angels, Olive Crest, and The Felix Organization. Mid-size and large organizations received the Fire Award, and one organization was honored with the Phoenix Award for youth impact.
“To be chosen by our peers as a 2024 Flame Award recipient is a tremendous honor,” Christina Dronen, executive director of Finally Family Homes, said in the release. “We’re proud to stand alongside incredible organizations doing this vital work across the country. This award will allow us to expand our services and deepen our impact for young adults right here in Santa Clarita, particularly in the area of housing.”
An overview of all the award winners can be found at agingoutinstitute.org/2024-awards-program-winners.
