As a child, Patricia Holland drew close connections with an extended family of brothers and sisters. They weren't bound by blood, but by Holland's mom, who accepted kids and young adults in need into the family home.
Now a mom of three of her own, Holland has directed much of her attention toward kids in need today — the vulnerable population of children who are aging out of the foster care system. And that's why she launched
All Things New Inc. The group supports teens and young adults through programs, guidance and, she hopes, eventually a place for them to live.
Holland, who is guided by her deep faith, tells me that she's focused on helping this population be all they can be by giving them a new outlook on life, one step at a time. Holland has worked in the criminal justice system, attended Wake Tech and has served as a youth and adult counselor and patient care forensic. I checked in with Holland to learn more about her work and how people can help. Here's a Q&A.
Go Ask Mom: How did All Things New get its start, and what do you do?
Patricia Holland: All Things New Inc, known as ATNI, got its start in the early years of my childhood. My mother cared for many neighborhood kids. Not through any social service assistance; my mom just saw a need and that was it. Later in life, I became employed within the criminal justice system. That is were I looked back to my mom and the job I had, and the wheels began to turn. So many incarcerated individuals who I spoke with either were currently in foster care or had, at some point in life, been in foster care. At that point I believed that I could develop a program that would assist the individuals before they reach the point of having a criminal record. Most of the criminal activities stem from not having consistency—no suitable living arrangements and no caring adult to guide them into the independence of adulthood.
We originally opened the doors with plans to house individuals aging out of foster care system. It is hard to get landlords to agree to rent to individuals age 18 to 22 without any credit history or rental history. This became a very difficult test, To get around this trouble, we began to offer workshops on how to obtain housing through rental, host housing or purchase. We offer nutrition workshops through healthy dish plans with videos of dish preparation and birthday cards and graduation programs. We also offer financial education as well as life skills training and life coaching.
Because of COVID-19, we had to opt for all virtual interaction, and that was a big issue at the start of the pandemic. Some had no internet or computers, and some still have no internet or computer other than the ones issued for school use, if they were even enrolled in school. Going forward, we plan to offer more coaching because this seems to be what would work best at a time of so much uncertainty for the future. We would love to be able to get back to our original plan of owning a living structure for the purpose of housing individuals exiting the North Carolina foster care system with no family and or an adult to help guide them in becoming a productive adult. However at this time we will continue the programs.
GAM: Tell us about the obstacles that kids face when they age out of the foster system. They can really struggle.
PH: Kids struggle from the lack of consistency and not having suitable living arrangements, a trusting adult and, basically, an understanding about the basic needs of day-to-day life. Because the foster care system has made the choices for the individuals throughout their life, they are not equipped to make sound decisions in their best interest. This population has real struggles with trust. The individuals have a hard time trusting others. In the foster care system, they are asked to trust the people who removed them from families and placed them in unknown situations without having the chance for them to question what's happening or have their voice heard. Sometimes they have been taken out of a negative home situation with neglect or abuse, and it is what's best. But sometimes they are placed in far worse situations, leading to mistrust of unknown adults.
GAM: What changes have you had to make because of COVID, and what has that meant for the population you serve?
PH: We were not able to meet face to face with foster youth. Also, it has put a strain on communication with the staff we work with within the department of social services. COVID-19 has also placed a hardship on fundraising activities. It’s been very challenging to continue our program without being able to fundraise and our regular donors being willing to donate at this particular time. That's caused us to ATNI to suspend and even delete some of our activities.
GAM: What do you need most, and how can people help?
PH: What we need most is PRAYER!! First and foremost!! We need more and effective ways to bring awareness to this population, and also the work of the organization—birthday and graduation cards, and of course, monetary donations. We are also looking for experienced people who would like to assist a small struggling nonprofit organization move forward pro bono.
GAM: What are your hopes for the future of All Things New?
PH: My hope for ATNI is that it will serve a purpose if not the living structure as planned, especially the life skills and coaching as well as providing the consistency of a trusted adult who can help them become productive adults.
Go Ask Mom features local moms every Monday.
