Chicago Foster Care Alumni Chapter
Lived Experience. Community. Leadership. Opportunity.
A chapter built by and for young adults who have experienced foster care in Chicago.
The Living Waters Youth Chicago Foster Care Alumni Chapter creates a space for young adults who have experienced foster care to connect, build community, access resources and use their lived experience to help shape the future of foster-care transition services.
Foster-care alumni should not only be viewed as recipients of services.
They are leaders, advocates, mentors, parents, professionals, entrepreneurs, students, community members and experts in their own experiences.
The chapter creates a community where alumni can connect while accessing resources that support housing, employment, education, financial stability, healing and personal growth.
What the chapter offers
Nine ways alumni connect and lead
Community & Connection
Spaces to meet other alumni and build relationships that last beyond a program.
Peer Support
Encouragement, accountability and understanding from people with shared experience.
Housing Resources
Navigation support and connections to housing opportunities and providers.
Workforce & Education
Employment, training, apprenticeship and educational pathways.
Financial Empowerment
Budgeting, banking, credit and long-term financial decision-making.
Mental Health & Wellness
Trauma-informed support and connections to licensed clinical providers.
Leadership
Opportunities to lead, organize and represent alumni experience.
Mentorship
Mentoring relationships in both directions: receiving and giving.
Advocacy & Systems Feedback
Channels for alumni to shape how transition services are designed.
Foster-care alumni are not just people who survived the system. They are people with knowledge, experience, leadership and power to help change what comes next.