Graves Ventures featured leader: Carla Godwin

Carla Godwin, Executive Director of the PERIS Foundation, grew up in a family with a legacy of both trauma and resilience. Having experienced the generational impact of family separation, she saw that systems sometimes fail those who are vulnerable, particularly women, children, and youth. Her experience inspired a desire to understand how we overcome and thrive in spite of obstacles, individually and collectively, and how we can create human centered systems. 

Having a safe and comfortable place to live is a luxury that many adults take for granted. But for youth who are aging out of foster care, it’s a challenge to find housing that provides them with both a safety net and a launching pad for their future adult lives. A unique living solution is now in place at Minneapolis’ PERIS Hill, an intentional affordable housing community that provides supportive housing for youth who have aged out of foster care. Developed by the PERIS Foundation, PERIS Hill opened in November 2021.

“Our goal is to be an upstream solution for young people who have experienced the trauma of family separation and are at increased risk of homelessness,” says Godwin.

 The dreamer who helped start it all
The inspiration for PERIS began with Denise Graves, who served for 16 years as guardian ad litem for youth in foster care, advocating for them in the courts. Aware of the struggles that aging-out youth faced, she charged the Foundation to research the best ways to offer supportive housing for former foster youth.

The research uncovered the scope of the problem, pointing to a study by Chapin Hall, University of Chicago, in which 36% of young people aging out of foster care reported at least one episode of homelessness by age 26. In addition, Minnesota’s Wilder Research Center’s 2015 Study on Homelessness found that 54% of the homeless youth surveyed had been in an out-of-home placement.

“Research confirmed that the need exists, but there are remarkably few supportive housing options for fosters when they age out,” Godwin says. Using the research as a foundation, PERIS worked with a youth advisory council to lay out all requirements for the most supportive environment possible.

“Movie Mondays” and more
The research and input from young people informed every aspect of PERIS Hill, a brand-new space with 30 affordable units for income-qualified residents and 15 deeply affordable, supportive housing units for young people aging out of foster care. The youth are provided with 24/7 onsite staff support, provided by The Link, an innovative, youth centered, strengths based, supportive housing provider in Minnesota for over 30 years.

“A big part of our philosophy is youth voice and youth leadership, putting them at the front of everything we’re trying to do,” says James Lewis, Housing and Homeless Director for The Link. Besides essential supportive services, Link staff at PERIS create opportunities for youth residents to gather and connect in a beautifully designed community space reserved for them. Youth come down to cook, watch movies, work out in the fitness center, or just connect. 

Now that PERIS Hill is open and fully occupied, Godwin says there is ongoing work to be done. “We are working with an evaluation partner to create a continuous improvement loop, checking in with the people we’re serving, making sure the program is helping them address the challenges and opportunities they face. Our goal is for them to be fully integrated into a space that allows them to mature into thriving adulthood and to feel a sense of momentum for their lives moving forward.”

Partnering with Graves Ventures
“We wouldn’t exist without Graves Ventures,” Godwin says. “The research they conducted created the model. We appreciate their commitment to not just supporting communities, but to working alongside them – not coming in with a solution but listening for a solution. Because we have support from the Foundation, we have a sense of security and time to build something sustainable that could truly impact the lives of fosters and the supportive housing eco-system for youth aging out.”

 Join us on October 6th to learn more about Carla’s leadership and celebrate the launch of Graves Ventures!