November 14, 2020

Partner News: Orange County’s Samueli Academy to open dorms for foster youth

The Samueli Academy in Santa Ana soon will open Orange County’s first on-site campus dorms for foster youth, offering students who lack stable housing a place to stay during the week.

The new three-story building will house two college-style suites on each floor. Each suite will include four bedrooms – with two students per bedroom – along with a living room, kitchen and study area.

Shay Sorrells, chief program officer at the Orangewood Foundation, a non-profit that offers services to foster and community youth, described the dwellings as “a home away from home” for up to 48 students. Backed by a team of social workers, counselors and other staff members, the students will live on campus Sunday night through Friday afternoon and spend the weekends with their relatives or foster families.

Read more here.