A helping house for young adults

For more than three years, the House of Joy Transitional Program has helped foster children and homeless young adults in Vallejo move smoothly toward independence. Founded by foster parent Joy Thompson, the House of Joy has helped more than 35 individuals between the ages of 18 and 24 learn to be self-sufficient. Thompson founded the program after realizing that her own two foster daughters were not yet ready to move into the adult world at age 18, and also that there were no facilities available to help with this transition.

    Residents can remain at the facilities—one for men and one for women—for as long as they need to help them prepare for independent life. While in the program, the young adults learn life skills such as cooking, basic job skills, parenting methods, safe sex practices, exercise, nutrition and more. Lessons are taught by volunteers, ranging from ordinary people to larger organizations, such as Planned Parenthood, and universities including U.C. Davis and the University of Phoenix.

    Among these volunteers are Nicole Yee and Dianna Rynkiewicz, two doctors from Kaiser Permanente’s Volunteers in Public Service (VIPS) program. Each doctor comes in one evening every other month for about two to two-and-a-half hours. They conduct short seminars and lectures on health practices, offer advice and provide one-on-one counseling for the residents. Yee says, “It’s rewarding because I’m helping them with their coming-of-age and giving them a head-start.”

Do you like what you read? Subscribe to Solano Magazine »