Bank of New York Mellon : BNY Mellon Foundation of Southwestern Pennsylvania Supports ACTION-Housing

'I come from literally nothing. I was in four foster homes before I was adopted, then I was in four more foster homes, then I was homeless,' recounts Michael Warren of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

For young adults aging out of the foster care system, the options are limited and often bleak.

'You're 21 and you have no other options, so you have to go apply for a homeless shelter,' Warren continues. 'There were no additional services.'

That's where Pittsburgh-based ACTION-Housing steps in. The nonprofit organization's MyPlace program works with young adults to bridge the gap between foster care and independent living, starting by giving people a place to call home.

'Stable housing provides not only a foundation for building independent lives, but also unlocks the opportunity to flourish,' says Linda Metropulos, Director of Housing and Neighborhood Development at ACTION-Housing.

'ACTION-Housing didn't just give me an apartment,' Warren reflects, 'it gave me a program, which had a lot of classes on how to manage your time, workshops on how to better myself as an independent person and financial classes which were extremely helpful.'

A couple of years ago, Isis Cox was a teenager living with her sister and working at an unsteady job. Her landlord encouraged her to apply to the MyPlace program.

'It was a bit of an adjustment because I had never lived alone before; it was always me and my sister,' Cox says.

The program taught her the skills she needed to feel confident living independently. She landed a job as an ACTION-Housing resident assistant last summer and then graduated and moved into her own place in the fall.

'Back before ACTION-Housing, I wasn't able to go to school,' Cox says. 'Now I can go back to school. I'm planning to study psychology and I'd like to be a counselor someday.'

'The MyPlace program currently serves 120 people in our community,' says Kenya Boswell, President of the BNY Mellon Foundation of Southwestern Pennsylvania. 'That's a lot of success stories and lives changed for the better. The stability that comes from reliable housing gives these young adults the opportunity to pursue their dreams.'

BNY Mellon has supported ACTION-Housing for about half of the non-profit's 60-year history. The Foundation was recently honored with an ACTION-Housing 2018 Award of Excellence for encouraging and supporting the MyPlace program.

Warren recently graduated from Duquesne University and his outlook on life has never been brighter.

'Society says that only three percent of people in my position actually go to college and graduate,' he says. 'I was one of the three percent and my hope, my duty is to tell other kids that they can and they will accomplish great things.'