Jun 25, 2026 · 2 min · 7 segments
Two friends in the Santa Clarita Valley have created a special place for older foster youth to find support and inspiration, and a path to post-secondary education. Click on the link to hear Gina…
Heather JordanHost
Gina StevensGuest
Carolyn OlsenGuestspeaker_5Two friends in the Santa Clarita Valley have created a special place for older foster youth to find support and inspiration and a path to post-secondary education.
Heather Jordan has our KNX Heroes of the Week brought to you by RooterHero.com.
Gina Stevens and Carolyn Olsen are leading the way at Fostering Youth Independence, or FYI.
It helps foster kids ages 16 to 25 transition into post-secondary education and employment.
Carolyn says the youth are provided with lots of support and resources so they can reach their goals.
We're looking at the long term and we're trying to equip our youth to have the best chances of success down
If you look at the numbers, only 55% of foster youth aging out of the foster care system will have a high school diploma.
36% will experience homelessness within the first 18 months after leaving foster care.
At FYI, they assign each foster youth with a volunteer that provides encouragement and moral support.
They also help kids get their driver's license or their GED, and they also assist with applications for things like financial aid and class registration for college.
Honestly, I feel lucky every day to meet these youth and see the trajectory of their lives literally change before my eyes.
And now we can look back and see, you know, 220 youth who've been impacted by the work that we do and by the community coming together to support these youth.
Our KNX Heroes of the Week, Gina Stevens and Carolyn Olsen, and the entire staff and volunteer team at Fostering Youth Independence.
It's such an unknown problem to so many, and I feel like our youth, you know, I always say they're the forgotten population.
Two friends in the Santa Clarita Valley have created a special place for older foster youth to find support and inspiration and a path to post-secondary education.
Heather Jordan has our KNX Heroes of the Week brought to you by RooterHero.com.
Gina Stevens and Carolyn Olsen are leading the way at Fostering Youth Independence, or FYI.
It helps foster kids ages 16 to 25 transition into post-secondary education and employment.
Carolyn says the youth are provided with lots of support and resources so they can reach their goals.
We're looking at the long term and we're trying to equip our youth to have the best chances of success down
If you look at the numbers, only 55% of foster youth aging out of the foster care system will have a high school diploma.
36% will experience homelessness within the first 18 months after leaving foster care.
At FYI, they assign each foster youth with a volunteer that provides encouragement and moral support.
They also help kids get their driver's license or their GED, and they also assist with applications for things like financial aid and class registration for college.
Honestly, I feel lucky every day to meet these youth and see the trajectory of their lives literally change before my eyes.
And now we can look back and see, you know, 220 youth who've been impacted by the work that we do and by the community coming together to support these youth.
Our KNX Heroes of the Week, Gina Stevens and Carolyn Olsen, and the entire staff and volunteer team at Fostering Youth Independence.
It's such an unknown problem to so many, and I feel like our youth, you know, I always say they're the forgotten population.
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