Welcome to the first Off The Street Kids newsletter!

Dear Friends and Loyal Supporters,

Background

As many of you may know, OTSK was born in 2008 from a desire to work with young people making the transition from residential care (institutions) to independent living in South Africa.  These young adults, upon leaving care, are often on their own and unprepared to support themselves. To prevent them from ending up on the streets, where drugs and crime are tools for survival, OTSK is piloting a programme in Cape Town.

Latest news

We have now completed our first year, which was dedicated to researching and developing our programme, aptly named: the Transition to Responsible, Independent Living programme (TRIL). After spending August and September in the UK, sourcing both funding and effective partnerships, we are back in Cape Town where the team is growing. We officially launch in January but have already started mentoring youth from a home called Beth Uriel, preparing them for independence while learning from them how to best meet their needs.

The TRIL programme

In addition to research on the ground, we are drawing on practices globally where similar programmes are in place. Each young person will work with a mentor who will guide them through their preparation for independence and will continue to support them once they make the transition. The period immediately after leaving care is often the most difficult, as many young people find themselves alone and feeling isolated. 

We have developed a pack that will engage them in the process of planning their own futures; provide them with developmentally-appropriate, culturally-compatible services and support, and involve them and their families in preparing them to live responsibly and independently. The pack will also provide a resource of information on: employment, career and educational opportunities, housing, personal effectiveness, wellbeing and community-life functioning.

We are in the process of meeting with employers and training institutions in Cape Town and asking them to commit to employing and / or training the youth in our programme thereby guaranteeing them a degree of future security.  

Our goals

Our ultimate aim is to affect policy in South Africa. We are developing a model so that government will take responsibility for these young people and make it possible for every children's home in the country to have access to the TRIL programme.

Finances

We have received some very generous donations over the last year and many of you have run some fantastic fund raising events, for which we are extremely grateful. Without your support there would be no programme.  

We would especially like to thank those who were actively involved in raising funds for OTSK by organising events and auctions: Karen Mendez (USA), Julie Tomlin’s bike marathon (UK), Annette Honschied (Germany), Sandi Hicks and Dianne Wachowicz (Australia), Bronwyn Robertson (USA), Catherine O’ Donnell and Victoria Cartwright (UK).


Australian fundraisers


Julie Tomlin's bike marathon

To date we have successfully raised about 25% of the funds needed for next year, but we still have a way to go before we reach our target of £40,000. We hope we can rely on your continued support in order to reach our goal to carry out this necessary work.

The Future

We will be posting quarterly newsletters and regular blogs with updates on how the pilot programme is progressing. If you have any suggestions on how we might keep you better informed, or if you have any information on youth leaving care and how they are supported in your country, please do not hesitate to contact us at: info@offthestreetkids.org – we would be delighted to hear from you!

We wish you a warm and happy Christmas and exciting New Year in 2010!

Warmest regards from the OTSK team in Cape Town, 

Michelle and Amy