Larava is a 20-year-old single mother participating in the Foster Youth to Independence (FYI) program.
She was aging out of foster care when she was issued a voucher through LACDA, but she immediately began encountering barriers in locating housing. She kept falling into homelessness and continued sleeping in her car with her newborn baby, who was getting sick and often having to go to the ER for open sores. A LAHSA Housing Advisor team reached out to a property owner, who ultimately accepted her application though she was initially hesitant because there were 30 other applicants for the space.
Larava and her daughter have been settling into their new home. She has been offered a job at a local bank but asked to put the offer on hold while she adjusts to the move. She is taking every step slowly but surely, as she wants to be successful in every role and responsibility that she takes on.