The founders of A Home Within understood the profound impact a single, lasting relationship could have in the life of a person who, through no fault of their own, currently or previously has been in foster care. Today, we carry their vision forward with our nationwide network of volunteers who have committed to providing free, one-to-one mental health services for as long as it takes.
With a mission to create and support lasting, caring relationships for individuals who have experienced foster care, A Home Within identifies, recruits, trains, and supports a network of licensed therapists who each provide free, weekly, one-to-one therapy to a single child, teen, or adult "for as long as it takes." For those impacted by foster care who often watch people move in and out of their lives, our model creates an anchor of support.
Our vision is that all individuals who have experienced foster care, regardless of age, are matched with a therapist who is willing to "walk the distance" with them to support the varied responses to trauma and to hold hope during their healing journey.
A small group of psychotherapists founded the organization as the Children’s Psychotherapy Project in San Francisco in 1994 with a mission to heal the wounds of complex trauma and ambiguous loss for current and former foster youth by providing individual, open-ended, relationship-based psychotherapy free of charge through local networks of volunteer clinicians. Incorporated as the nonprofit A Home Within in 2001, the organization rapidly grew, and today our network of 20 chapters of volunteer clinicians across 11 states serves over 500 individuals currently or previously in foster care.
A Home Within is committed to fostering the interconnectedness of our community. We welcome and celebrate the diversity of our staff, volunteers, clients, and stakeholders on every axis: racial and ethnic identity; language and culture; gender and sexual identity; economic circumstances; geographic location; and training, discipline, and modality. Our mission and goals are informed by evidence-based interventions to address the social determinants of health for racial and ethnic minorities who have experienced foster care. Our approach integrates research, clinical practice, and continuing education to shape a field that is culturally responsive. We hold our organization accountable to building the field with and for the communities we serve.
