When Apollo aged out of foster care, he wasn’t quite ready to drive off into the sunset. He still had a lot of growing up to do, and unlike most eighteen-year-olds, he didn’t have parents continuing to coach him into adulthood. So Apollo moved into the Hutchens Campus of the MBCH Transitional Living Program, where he eagerly began applying himself to the work of growing and learning new skills.
While many teens leaving foster care struggle with lack of purpose, Apollo had a vision for his life that inspired him to constantly set and accomplish new goals. First, he found a job, where establishing a reputation as a hard worker affirmed his identity as a competent adult man. MBCH workers then guided him through the process of filing his taxes for the first time so that he could manage his personal finances in the future. With each step he took toward independence, Apollo felt more inspired to achieve his best and set a standard of excellence for other residents to follow.
One of Apollo’s primary goals while in the Transitional Living Program was to buy his own car. After a few years of working and saving up, Apollo became one of the first residents in six years to purchase a vehicle during his time in the program. Earning the money for himself made Apollo feel a sense of responsibility for his car rather than taking it for granted. He understood that car ownership required continual vigilance, discipline, and care, so he continued to maintain a savings account in order to afford any necessary repairs and worked every week to upgrade and improve his car. By following along with YouTube videos, he taught himself how to install a new sound system, transforming his simple used car into the vehicle of his dreams.
After graduating from high school, Apollo was accepted to Missouri State University. Soon, he’ll be moving out of the Transitional Living Program and into a dorm, where he plans to surround himself with hard-working peers while applying the determination he’s developed over the past few years to his college coursework. It will be bittersweet to see Apollo move out, as he’s become a source of strength and encouragement for everyone at the Hutchens Campus, but MBCH staff workers will remain closely connected to Apollo as he takes his next steps toward self-sufficiency.
This is the heart of the Transitional Living Program: by giving at-risk adolescents a safe place to stay as they find their path into adulthood, we keep them headed in the right direction during one of their most vulnerable seasons. From there, we surround them with love and encouragement as they develop a vision for their own unique future, with the goal of both teaching teens the practical skills necessary for success and helping them see themselves as capable learners and doers.
At MBCH, we’re committed to kids for the long haul, not just when they’re little. Love holds on with the steadiness that faith supplies until hope turns into substance before our eyes.
