Casa Valentina is a non-profit organization that addresses the unique, gender-specific needs of young women transitioning from foster care to independent living.

The organization was established in 2004 by a group of concerned women who acknowledged the immense challenges faced by young women who leave – or “age out” of – foster care at age 18 without the life experience, financial stability and support they need to survive on their own. Facing numerous transitional challenges, this population of at-risk girls is vulnerable to violence, prostitution, substance abuse, incarceration, pregnancy, domestic violence and homelessness.

Successful fundraising, awareness-raising initiatives and special events, including the November 2005 sold-out benefit performance of Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues, enabled Casa Valentina to introduce thousands of people to the crisis facing young women emerging from foster care and to raise the funds necessary to establish a first-of-its-kind residential program to assist them during the difficult transition to independent living. Since opening in 2006, Casa Valentina has assisted 35 young women on their journey to independent living.

Casa Valentina’s mission is to help young women transition successfully from foster care to independent living.

To achieve our mission:

• We provide young women in Miami-Dade County who age out of foster care with up to two years of safe and affordable housing, life skills and self-advocacy training and the support services they need to become successful, independent adults.
• We engage in advocacy within the child welfare system to ensure our residents, and all transitioning foster youth, have access to the resources and services they need to achieve autonomy.
• We conduct community outreach and offer education and training on critical foster care issues to create greater awareness and support for youth emerging from foster care.

Casa Valentina’s vision is a community in which all foster children receive the care and support they need to reach their full potential.

Testimonials

"I lost myself. I wasn’t able to talk to more than one person. I wasn’t able to express my feelings, but at Casa Valentina I found myself."
— Resident, age 20

"When I was in foster care, I never thought something like Casa Valentina could happen to me. It gave me something to live for, a goal. A lot of girls think there is nothing to live for, just foster care and bad memories. Casa Valentina shows you there’s more to life, more to live for."
— Resident, age 18