At 17, your average Kiwi teen will be in their last years of high school, focused on exams, maybe dreaming of their school ball and what to do with the rest of their lives. But for 300 foster children each year who "age out" of care at 17, concerns centre more on finding a place to live and learning how to fend for themselves.
One Auckland teenager has been in the care of Child Youth and Family for most of her life - she's been in so many foster placements she's lost count. In the two years since the 18-year-old aged out, she's also been in four different homes. The most recent one she left virtually empty-handed after her former landlord refused to give her belongings back over one week's unpaid rent.
The Foster Hope charity hopes to help by providing "flat packs" with items that many first-time flatters would be given by their parents.
Though it wasn't this teen's first flat, she was grateful to receive the large blue bin filled with towels, a chopping board, plates, a cup, a duvet, washing powder and toiletries.
"Once I moved out of my old house I didn't have anything, only a bag of clothes," she said. "But knowing I had stuff already here, that I didn't have to go asking people if I could use this or that, because they had provided it already ... it was helpful."
