Our Programs & Services
When young adults age out of foster care, they reach a critical crossroads. Without support, many face overwhelming challenges: homelessness, unemployment, addiction, incarceration, or even seeing their own children enter the system. Ready for Life offers a different path: one built on guidance, community, and opportunity. Through comprehensive support and resources, we help young adults build stability, achieve their goals, and move forward knowing they’re never alone.
Crisis Stabilization
The Pantry
Stocked with donated items from our wish list and organized by creative volunteers (Thank you RFL Pantry Ladies!), The Pantry has become one of the most important services we offer to hundreds of young adults and their children every single day.
Transportation
Transportation is essential for meeting basic needs. At Ready for Life, youth can receive a year-long bus pass, making it easier to get to appointments, work, or school. Youth can also work with their Program Specialist to receive assistance with Uber/Lyft, ride sharing, or gas, as well as help obtaining a driver's license.
Housing Support
Safe and stable housing is one of the most critical needs for young adults who have aged out of foster care. Without a secure place to rest each night, planning for a successful future becomes increasingly difficult. Ready for Life's Program Specialists work closely with displaced young adults to explore all potential housing solutions, helping them quickly regain stability and independence.
Program Specialists
Our Program Specialists have personal experience in the foster care system, giving them unique insight into the challenges facing youth who age out of care. Each young person who comes to Ready for Life is paired with a Program Specialist who helps them assess their needs, create a plan for their future, and take steps to achieve their goals.
Tampa Bay Rays Clean Sweep Day Stop
Meeting basic hygiene needs is often first priority when young adults come to Ready for Life. Many arrive homeless, displaced, or between living situations, urgently needing a place to shower, do laundry, and restore their dignity. Our Rays Clean Sweep Day Stop, sponsored by the Rays Baseball Foundation, offers youth access to essential services including showers, private lockers, laundry facilities, and toiletries.
Santa's Angels Good Day Store
The Good Day Store at the RFL Skill Center, generously stocked by Santa's Angels, provides all the hygiene, laundry, and essential supplies for our Rays Clean Sweep Day Stop facility. This bright and welcoming space offers a dignified shopping experience where youth can access the items they need during challenging times.
Beth Dillinger Foundation's Beth's Corner
Beth's Corner, sponsored by the Beth Dillinger Foundation, is a special closet at Ready for Life filled with brand new clothing for young adults and their children. Whether they need an outfit for a new job, an interview, or an important school presentation, youth can always find something new to wear from Beth's Corner.
Suncoast Voices Lockers
Ready for Life offers lockers donated by Suncoast Voices for Children that young adults can use for important documents, personal belongings, or anything they feel needs safeguarding for the short term. Since many young adults come to us homeless or displaced, a safe and secure place for their treasured items is essential.
Personal Documents
Many former foster youth struggle to maintain their essential documents due to unstable living situations and limited support systems. Ready for Life helps youth locate and obtain vital records including birth certificates, state IDs, academic transcripts, and other important documents needed to move forward successfully in life.
Support Networks
Be the One Mentor Program
Ready for Life's mentoring program creates lasting bonds that help former foster youth find a true sense of belonging. Our mentors generously share not just their knowledge and expertise, but their hearts and time. They become "that one person who cares"—offering the consistent support, genuine encouragement, and caring guidance that can transform a young person's life journey. Through these meaningful relationships, our youth discover they're not alone and find the confidence to pursue their dreams.
Family HOPE Center & Exchange Parent Aide Program
Ready for Life is an official Child Abuse Prevention (CAP) Center licensed by National Exchange Club. As a CAP Center, RFL implements the Exchange Parent Aide Program. Exchange Parent Aides trained, professionally supervised individuals that act as mentors and provide intensive support, information, and modeling of effective parenting to families at risk of child abuse and neglect — all in the home of the family. Services are family centered and focus on child safety, social support, parenting skills, and problem solving.
Mommy & Me / Wingmen
Ready for Life currently serves more than 150 little ones and 70 parents. That's 150 little ones NOT in foster care. Mommy & Me and Wingmen are our support networks for our young mothers and fathers and their little ones, helping to stop the cycle of foster care and child abuse.
100% of participants in our parenting support groups have custody of their children!
Family & Friends 4th Fridays!
Fun Fridays are our monthly community gatherings where young adults, mentors, volunteers, and community partners come together to spend time, connect, and unwind. Each month, we host a casual get-together at the Ready for Life Skill Center focused on building relationships, sharing laughs, and creating a true sense of belonging for former foster young adults and their children.
Family Traditions Initiative
The tough truth for former foster youth is that Family Traditions are not a given. Those we serve call us their “Ready for Life Family,” and that includes each of our dedicated volunteers, mentors, and community partners. At Ready for Life we pull out all the stops to give those we serve an opportunity to experience the love and celebration with people who care.
Life Skills & Learning Gaps
Ready for Jobs
Ready for Jobs is our proprietary career-readiness program that pairs each youth with a Job Coach. Together, they complete workshops designed to teach soft skills, interview techniques, professional attire, and etiquette. After completing the program, Ready for Life works alongside the youth to secure interviews and job opportunities within the community.
Financial Literacy
Ready for Life's Financial Literacy course equips former foster youth with the critical financial skills necessary to build a successful future. The program covers essential topics such as budgeting, saving money, making financially responsible decisions, and opening and managing personal bank accounts. Participants gain knowledge and tools to manage their finances effectively and work towards long-term financial stability.
The Spark Lab
Sponsored by Raymond James, the Spark Lab is a state-of-the-art learning lab designed to ignite curiosity, confidence, and career readiness. In partnership with Fostering Hearts FL, GPS Career Exploration, and Suncoast Voices for Children’s Opportunity Passport, the Spark Lab helps young adults earn their GED, explore career paths, and build financial stability through hands-on learning and real-world connections.
Opportunity Passport™ with Suncoast Voices
In partnership with Suncoast Voices for Children, Opportunity Passport™ offers young people who have spent time in foster care complete a comprehensive, evidence-based financial literacy course with a mentor. Once they graduate, they are paired with a financial coach to help them create a budget and save for their goals through a savings matching program. Suncoast Voices also offers an Apartment Renting class and Car Buying Class.
Life Skill Reimagined with FSS
At Ready for Life, we believe learning essential life skills should be both fun and empowering. Through our Life Skills Reimagined program, young adults discover creative and practical ways to thrive: whether it’s managing finances, setting goals, or navigating everyday responsibilities. Our interactive workshops and personalized coaching sessions help participants build the confidence and knowledge they need for independence and long-term success. Because once they know, they know—and that knowledge truly changes lives.
Paws for Progress with Humane Society of Tampa Bay
Paws for Progress is a collaborative program between Ready for Life and the Humane Society of Tampa Bay that supports both animals and young adults aging out of foster care. Through a 9-week experience, participants build skills in volunteerism, employability, compassion, and resilience while making a meaningful impact.
Health, Dental, and Mental Health Care
BayCare Healthcare Hub & Ready for Health
Ready for Life's Ready for Health class, sponsored by community partner BayCare, empowers young adults to take control of their well-being by teaching them the benefits of a healthy lifestyle as well as how to navigate the health care system effectively, including when and how to schedule doctor's appointments.
Ready for Smiles Dental Assistance
Ready for Smiles, formerly Dr. David Zabrocki Memorial Dental Program, provides dental care to young adults who have aged out of foster care receiving little or no dental care their entire lives. This program assists young adults with dental appointments for routine care as well as long- and short-term dental issues.
Mental Health Care
Did you know that nearly 80% of foster care youth suffer from a mental health issue? Frequently changing housing situations, past trauma, and inadequate access to healthcare can lead to conditions such as PTSD, anxiety or depression, and more. Our in-house licensed mental health counselor helps these resilient young adults work through issues in a safe, caring environment.
2024 - 2025 Impact Report
“Ready for Life didn’t just help me get my GED, they helped me believe I could be somebody.”
For more stories of hope, resilience, and success, view our latest Impact Report.
