Bridge Builder Community is a helping hand for those aging out of foster care

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Anyone familiar with the foster care system knows it is overwhelmed locally and across the country.

In Richmond County, an organization called the Bridge Builder Community is trying to help young adults about to age out of the system.

Lack of stability, loneliness, and living in the unknown since the age of 14. It’s the reality of now 20-year-old Johnice Stone and many other young people in foster care across the nation.

“I had got very depressed because like I said, I didn’t know where it was happening next. Like, if I’m going to go here. If I’m going to go there. Will I be able to see my family, my little brother,” said Stone.

Stone is aging out of the system soon.

For people like her, the future living circumstances may be uncertain. Thanks to the Bridge Builder tiny-home community, they could soon have access to stable and affordable housing.

Jackson Drumgoole, Drumgoole Family Initiative said: “We found tiny homes to be the best solution. We don’t want to give them too much to manage because it is a transition home.”

It’s a concept that has been executed in states like Oklahoma and Alabama, now coming to the Augusta area and impacting future generations.

Stone said: “I think that would be a good opportunity for somebody who may not know how to do stuff to still find affordable housing and still have a system to still learn stuff as we continue to grow up into adulthood.”

The Bridge Builder Community is set to break ground early next year. They’ll begin housing by 2024.

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