CUNY Foster Initiative Students Living in CSI Dorms Featured in Wall Street Journal

New CUNY initiative at CSI provides free housing and other support to young people who grew up in foster care

College of Staten Island (CSI) students Araceli Zapien and Amanda Bahamonde spent much of their lives in foster homes. Now, thanks to a new initiative at the City University of New York (CUNY), the two students receive free year-round housing and meals. The efforts are part of the CUNY foster initiative, which aims to beat the low graduation rate for young people who grew up in foster care, a nationwide problem.

Currently, fifty young people are part of the program, which school officials hope will serve 200 students over four years. Participants reside on the Staten Island campus or at Queens College.

Read the full article, “Foster Youths Get Extra Help Making It Through College,” by Leslie Brody in the Wall Street Journal.