Referral Form
Beloved is a continuum of care model for young girls and trans youth of all genders who are currently incarcerated or are at risk of incarceration due to housing insecurity, homelessness, and/or foster care. The program is a 3-year commitment to youth participants and their caregivers to provide alternatives to incarceration and congregate care. Over the three years, Beloved staff provide participants with a variety of resources that address poverty, housing instability, and other drivers of systems-involvement, including:
Coaching for both young person and caregiver from Self Determination Coordinators who have lived experience themselves, court advocacy, systems navigation, family finding, support in navigating and obtaining Resource Family Approval, monthly youth stipends, financial literacy, goal-setting and coaching for education and employment, and referrals to trusted partners for high-quality, culturally competent mental health care, healing, and comprehensive wraparound services. Birthed from 30 years of proven work of the Young Women’s Freedom Center, Beloved is a long-term strategy to address housing instability and economic mobility towards the collective goal of ending incarceration of girls and trans youth in California.
As a new program committed to balancing the urgency of immediate solutions for incarcerated youth with the realities of building a program that provides high-quality support and service to our participants, our referral process takes into consideration our current capacity to adequately meet the needs of young people and their families. Over the course of the next few years, Beloved will continue to build and strengthen partnerships necessary for robust housing innovations that include family finding services, recruitment and training for credible messenger homes, and launch of emergency respite homes. We will communicate with transparency as these options are being finalized and are grateful for the patience, understanding, and excitement from our referral partners as we work to ensure we are growing at a pace that ensures the level of support for participants is never compromised.
Critical Notes for Sharing About Beloved
& Making Program Referrals
When sharing about Beloved with youth, please address the following key points to ensure consistency of communication & to avoid making promises regarding enrollment that may not be able to be kept given program capacity:
- Beloved is an alternative to incarceration that supports girls & trans youth of all genders who are detained or facing detention because of difficulty finding placement.
- Beloved assists with placement planning, collaborating with youth to identify potential options & co-creating a plan to identify & advocate for a placement that is safe & comfortable for the young person.
- After release, Beloved provides ongoing support for 3 years to both the young person & their parents/caregivers. This included weekly coaching, providing resources, setting goals & making plans to achieve them, connecting with other young people to build strong peer networks, referrals to trusted partners for healing & mental health services, & court advocacy to end systems involvement & support financial stability & overall health & wellbeing.
- We can’t promise that you will meet eligibility or that there is currently space available, but if you’re interested we can make a referral.
