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Annie C. Courtney Foundation opens housing for young people aging out of foster care
Summary
Deb Kelleher, founder of the Annie C. Courtney Foundation, said the nonprofit purchased three one‑bedroom condominiums in January 2025 and has begun housing 18–24‑year‑olds leaving foster care, supported by a 2024 OPM grant and a Connecticut Community Foundation award.
Deb Kelleher, founder and executive director of the Annie C. Courtney Foundation, said the small Waterbury nonprofit purchased three one‑bedroom condominiums in January 2025 and has begun housing young adults who age out of the foster care system.
"We always like to describe ourselves as small but mighty," Kelleher said, describing the organization’s work to recruit foster families across Connecticut and to provide housing and case management for 18‑ to 24‑year‑olds.
Kelleher said the New Beginnings housing effort took more than five years of fundraising and was enabled by an OPM grant awarded in 2024. The foundation completed renovations on the units — two required more extensive work — and began placing residents: one young person moved in last May, and two others took occupancy on Feb. 1, Kelleher said.
Kelleher described the program as a response to the risk of homelessness among young people leaving foster care. "Between 25 and 40% of the young adults who age out of foster care in the United States end up homeless within 18 months of leaving foster care," she said, adding that the program offers case management and short‑term financial assistance to help with food and transportation.
She said the Connecticut Community Foundation recently awarded a grant to supplement tenants' food and transportation costs for 11 months, and she praised the foundation’s engaged board for helping with hands‑on renovations.
Contact information for the Annie C. Courtney Foundation was provided during the segment: phone 475‑235‑2184 and website anniec.org.
Kelleher closed with a personal appeal rooted in her experience as an adoptive parent: she said she adopted three children who had been in foster care and urged adults to remain in young people's lives beyond placement. "Our kids need committed adults that will take them through adulthood and stay in their lives forever," she said.
The five‑minute interview aired as part of Connecticut Paid Leave’s "Five Minutes of Impact" series; the episode centered on the foundation’s New Beginnings housing initiative and its early residents.
