Our Founding Story – The Need and Heart Behind Finally Family Homes
Finally Family Homes was founded by Christina Dronen in 2017 with a vision to help young adults who were aging out of the foster care system without ever having found a family or home. These youth are at increased risk of homelessness, incarceration, and human trafficking.
The idea started in 2016…
Founding Story – Addressing Growing Problems
Being connected to a church community that cares about making an impact on the lives of people struggling around them, Christina and her husband teamed up with people in her church to start making a difference for these young adults. When we found out that at least 1,000 youth from foster care aged 16-24 are sleeping on the streets of Los Angeles – we knew more had to be done.
Inspired by a Church Connected
Summer of 2017 Christina went on a mission trip to Kyrgyzstan with her church.
One of the ministries of this church is to care for the local orphans who have aged out of the system there.
In their “founding story” the pastor of the Kyrgyz church was moved to start a home for aged-out orphans after a conversation with an orphan girl. Sincerely, the little girl asked, “Is it true that when we leave here, the boys will go to jail and the girls will become prostitutes?”
Sadly, he couldn’t say no. Orphans are put out on the street at 16 with no resources or help. The church there decided that wasn’t good enough. Thankfully they have a home that not only houses & feeds the youth, but connects them to mentors, education, and the local community.
As Christina tells it…
A Caring Community Makes a Difference
As I volunteered at the church, I worked alongside some of the girls being helped by their home, the Oak House. I saw the power of a caring community.
These young women were sweet, poised, and hopeful. They stood in stark contrast to the youth I had met here in the U.S. who were defensive and struggling with hope. The youth here know when someone’s hired to care for them and it’s a very bitter pill to swallow.
I saw in action something very close to what I thought to do here in the US. Truly, the personal investment in these youth resulted in hope and peace.
A Home for Orphans
One of the amazing young ladies I met was Dasha. She and the other girls I met from the Oak House made a huge impact on me because I had volunteered back here in the United States with some foster youth.
Here, at a cold government facility, they were rough and tumble – defensive rather than hopeful. They had a place to stay, education, and food – but they were surrounded by hired employees and they were quite aware of it.
Seeing the difference, gave me a picture of the kind of hope having a place like the Oak House can provide for foster teens here.
Below you can watch Dasha share her story in her own words.
Our Unique Vision
Dasha’s story testifies to the powerful impact that love, support, and community can have on the trajectory of kids like her.
This is why we stepped out in faith to start Finally Family Homes in 2017.
Not only are we moved by a mission to build real and lasting connections with the youth we serve – lifetime, family-like connection, but we also believe the legacies of these kids need to be restored.
What I mean is – so much of the help is pass-through help – a place to stay for the night, for the month, or until you reach the next age of being “too old.”
Kids who move out of a forever home – who never entered foster care- have a place to go at Thanksgiving, winter. and summer breaks. They have a place to crash when life gets hard. They get birthday presents, Christmas presents, and help out of tough situations. In fact, kids are living at home into their 20’s at the highest rate in US history.
These all “luxuries” that aged out foster youth don’t have.
But at Finally Family Homes – we don’t believe in “too old” for a family.We believe every child needs to enter adulthood connected to a family and a home.
That’s why we helped youth build to own their own tiny homes on wheels. We wanted them to have more stability than the pass-through help they get. Housing vouchers and food stamps are not a good long term plan.
We want to give them the dignity and opportunity of self-sufficiency to build an economic foundation for themselves.
We put together a short video here, we share our heart for helping aging out foster youth.
Growing to Serve More
Over time, people in the community have come to know the impact we make for young adults, and we’ve been asked to care for more than those impacted by foster care. In 2024, a funder came alongside us in support of expanding our impact to serve all young adults in this transition aged group to help them move from struggle to success.
Since then, Finally Family Homes has opened up to serve young adults struggling with homelessness, those looking for jobs, connection, and a supportive, caring community. And we’ve expanded to serve those up to age 26, allowing a longer runway to stability.
Thanks for taking the time to learn more about our founding story! If you’d like to know more, you can read up more on the
Struggles Foster Youth Face
The Mission of Finally Family Homes
How to Get Involved or Contribute
More about Finally Family Homes
