This week our co-founder and executive director Carrie DuRard spoke with Trisha Stetzel, host of Serving the Community podcast. Trisha’s podcast highlights community leaders working to solve problems and serve vulnerable populations.
“Out of all 50 states, Tennessee is the actual worst for permanent placement of teenagers,” said Carrie on the episode. “That’s kind of shocking, considering we’re the volunteer state.”
For teenagers? These numbers are even more grim. The vast majority of teens are moved into transitional housing where they have little stability and no support services. But as she explains on the podcast, Carrie and her husband and co-founder Jace weren’t daunted by these statistics. In fact, they were inspired to become foster parents themselves and, eventually, to launch Jonathan’s Path. Jonathan’s Path supports teens and young adults from 13-25 by providing permanent placement and support from trauma-informed staff.
“We just want to stop this bouncing around so we can address these other needs that they have,” said Carrie. “Once a child comes into foster care, it’s the community’s responsibility to help.” Currently, Jonathan’s Path is looking for donors, volunteers, therapists, and corporate sponsors to help them fulfill their mission of serving foster teens in Tennessee.
Interested in becoming a part of the community supporting teens in foster care?
Contact Carrie at carrie@jonathanspath.org or consider becoming a recurring donor today.
You can listen to the full episode of Serving the Community at Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
