Fostering Connections: Connections Homes’ Commitment to Serving Young Adults
Fostering Connections: Connections Homes’ Commitment to Serving Young Adults
“When we step into the lives of these young people, we get to play a part in His redemption of everything the Enemy tried to steal from them.”
Pam Parish’s statement summarizes her vision for Connections Homes, an organization she founded in 2014 to serve young adults aging out of foster care.
“Our sole goal is to match young people between the ages of 18 and 24 who are aging out of foster care or otherwise without family to mentoring families who commit to being a part of their life for life,” Pam explained.
The journey of Connections Homes began when Pam’s heart for children spurred her family’s foster care journey.
Pam and her husband have one biological daughter but were unable to have any more biological children. They considered adoption first, but as they learned more about older children in the foster care system, they decided it was time to open their home to foster children.
“We ended up fostering and adopting an 11-year-old who’s six months younger than our [biological] daughter,” Pam shared.
Pam later began to volunteer with the foster care agency that placed her adopted daughter with the family. As time passed, God brought more young adults into the Parishes’ life.
“A 15-year-old came whose potential adoptive parents were putting her back into foster care. We said we would take her,” Pam said. “Then four young ladies who were over the age of 18 intersected with our story and became part of our family.
“Two of them were homeless and had run away at 18 and should have been on CPS’ radar and never were. One was aging out and her foster family told her that either she had to find a place to live or they were dropping her off at a homeless shelter. One was a survivor of trafficking.”
When these young women entered Pam’s life one after the other, she began to recognize a new calling.
“Our pastor asked me whether I was crazy or whether God was calling me to something,” she said. “I began to pray about what God was doing, and Connections Homes was born.”
As she learned more about children aging out of foster care, Pam was shocked.
“I was discovering the number of kids aging out of foster care, not just in Georgia but nationally. I started thinking, ‘There’s got to be a solution. You can’t just turn 18 and do life [alone].’”
Pam’s solution? Mentorship and family support!
Connections Homes’ program isn’t a path to adoption but a resource for young adults as they transition out of foster care. The program matches youth with mentorship families and encourages youth to maintain their “voice and choice” throughout the process, a right many children haven’t experienced while in foster care.
Since 2014, Connections Homes has matched over 430 young adults with mentor families and is expanding into five states. Each success story is an answered prayer for Pam.
“Jesus said that the fields are white for harvest, but the workers are few. Every time we put a mentoring family in a young person’s life, we feel like that’s a worker in the field of one heart to love them the way Jesus would love them,” she said.
This year as the Connections Homes team celebrates 11 years of ministry, Pam is praying that God will touch the lives of young adults in need.
“My prayer is always that our mentoring families and our youth are fully engaged, that we truly see life transformation and that God would draw the right youth and right families,” Pam said.
“In 2024 and into 2025, our numbers are up 63% in youth and families compared to 2023. God is answering that prayer, and He’s drawing families and young people to the work that we do.”
As the organization has grown, she’s seen God move not only in young adults and partner families but also through donors.
She specifically remembers when one loyal donor stepped in to provide vital funding.
“Last year, we had a grant that was pulled at the last minute because of a change at their foundation, and we had another donor step up and give above and beyond what they normally give,” Pam said.
“It was a huge blessing to see somebody prayerfully step up and say, ‘We feel like the Lord is calling us to increase our donation to help.’”
For young adults aging out of the system, Connections Homes offers critical support, powered by generous donors and blessed by God.
Through each mentorship family, Pam hopes God’s love is being shared and young adults are better equipped for a bright future.
Click here to support Connections Homes’ important work!
Fostering Connections: Connections Homes’ Commitment to Serving Young Adults
Fostering Connections: Connections Homes’ Commitment to Serving Young Adults
“When we step into the lives of these young people, we get to play a part in His redemption of everything the Enemy tried to steal from them.”
Pam Parish’s statement summarizes her vision for Connections Homes, an organization she founded in 2014 to serve young adults aging out of foster care.
“Our sole goal is to match young people between the ages of 18 and 24 who are aging out of foster care or otherwise without family to mentoring families who commit to being a part of their life for life,” Pam explained.
The journey of Connections Homes began when Pam’s heart for children spurred her family’s foster care journey.
Pam and her husband have one biological daughter but were unable to have any more biological children. They considered adoption first, but as they learned more about older children in the foster care system, they decided it was time to open their home to foster children.
“We ended up fostering and adopting an 11-year-old who’s six months younger than our [biological] daughter,” Pam shared.
Pam later began to volunteer with the foster care agency that placed her adopted daughter with the family. As time passed, God brought more young adults into the Parishes’ life.
“A 15-year-old came whose potential adoptive parents were putting her back into foster care. We said we would take her,” Pam said. “Then four young ladies who were over the age of 18 intersected with our story and became part of our family.
“Two of them were homeless and had run away at 18 and should have been on CPS’ radar and never were. One was aging out and her foster family told her that either she had to find a place to live or they were dropping her off at a homeless shelter. One was a survivor of trafficking.”
When these young women entered Pam’s life one after the other, she began to recognize a new calling.
“Our pastor asked me whether I was crazy or whether God was calling me to something,” she said. “I began to pray about what God was doing, and Connections Homes was born.”
As she learned more about children aging out of foster care, Pam was shocked.
“I was discovering the number of kids aging out of foster care, not just in Georgia but nationally. I started thinking, ‘There’s got to be a solution. You can’t just turn 18 and do life [alone].’”
Pam’s solution? Mentorship and family support!
Connections Homes’ program isn’t a path to adoption but a resource for young adults as they transition out of foster care. The program matches youth with mentorship families and encourages youth to maintain their “voice and choice” throughout the process, a right many children haven’t experienced while in foster care.
Since 2014, Connections Homes has matched over 430 young adults with mentor families and is expanding into five states. Each success story is an answered prayer for Pam.
“Jesus said that the fields are white for harvest, but the workers are few. Every time we put a mentoring family in a young person’s life, we feel like that’s a worker in the field of one heart to love them the way Jesus would love them,” she said.
This year as the Connections Homes team celebrates 11 years of ministry, Pam is praying that God will touch the lives of young adults in need.
“My prayer is always that our mentoring families and our youth are fully engaged, that we truly see life transformation and that God would draw the right youth and right families,” Pam said.
“In 2024 and into 2025, our numbers are up 63% in youth and families compared to 2023. God is answering that prayer, and He’s drawing families and young people to the work that we do.”
As the organization has grown, she’s seen God move not only in young adults and partner families but also through donors.
She specifically remembers when one loyal donor stepped in to provide vital funding.
“Last year, we had a grant that was pulled at the last minute because of a change at their foundation, and we had another donor step up and give above and beyond what they normally give,” Pam said.
“It was a huge blessing to see somebody prayerfully step up and say, ‘We feel like the Lord is calling us to increase our donation to help.’”
For young adults aging out of the system, Connections Homes offers critical support, powered by generous donors and blessed by God.
Through each mentorship family, Pam hopes God’s love is being shared and young adults are better equipped for a bright future.
Click here to support Connections Homes’ important work!
