LifeSet hits a home run with monthly outing at Patriots’ game

On a Wednesday morning in May, at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, the Somerset Patriots were all set to play against the Portland Seadogs. Being that it was a weekday morning game, it brought in many students and teachers for class trips. The game also brought in the Catholic Charities LifeSet young adults and supervisors for their monthly outing.

The LifeSet program of Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen, is an evidenced based model that provides life skills instruction and case management to young adults ages 17-21 who are aging out of the N.J. foster care system. The Catholic Charities LifeSet program services Essex, Middlesex, Mercer, Somerset, and Union counties.

The LifeSet young adults program members arrived in their suite to watch the baseball game and there was already excitement in the air. After the National Anthem, and the start of the game, they had lunch, participated in an ice breaker activity and then ventured off on a career exploration scavenger hunt where they had to find different items on a list and get signatures for them. This activity, as are many of the activities they do at their outings, was designed to help Young Adults be more social and come out of their comfort zones.

Tova Baron-Loewenstein, director, has been with the program since it started in 2020. She said, “The program is going in a good direction, and we continue to enroll young adults.” She spoke about her specialists and how they each have different roles to play in the program, noting, “Immigration, banking, driver’s license, housing, employment, healthy relationships, coping skills, and mental health are all ways the specialists help our young adults.”

Lucas Salles-Couto is one of those young adults and he has been in the program for about a year. He recently restarted with LifeSet services because he needed help with independent living and college. “I was able to get into Union County College, and the LifeSet specialists helped me with enrollment,” said Salles-Couto, adding, “I want to be a social worker and have the opportunity to help someone else like they’ve helped me.”

LifeSet specialists meet with young adults in the community on a flexible schedule in order to best meet their needs. The LifeSet program also provides a 24/7 on-call service. For specialists like Maria Tolentino, who has been with LifeSet for 11 months, “the most rewarding part is seeing young adults coming to events, seeing them find their independence and being able to identify where they need help and where they don’t.”

LifeSet specialists receive extensive training and have small caseloads in order to keep young adults on the path toward their independent living goals. Specialists also work with young adults to address issues related to housing, education, financial literacy, parenting skills, creating and maintaining permanent relationships with supportive adults, and remaining free from judicial system involvement.

Although the average length of stay in the program is nine months, Aliyah Williams always comes back to all the events. When she started the program, through the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, Williams got her license, searched for an apartment, shopped for a car, and attended many events where she learned life skills like budgeting, and savings, with the help of LifeSet specialists. She lives in Trenton and doesn’t have the opportunity to socialize often, so the events are nice for herself and her two-year-old daughter Khaliyah.

“The Lifeset program is the best,” Williams stressed. “You tell them what you need help with, and they help you.” Her daughter, Khaliyah, who is always a big hit at LifeSet monthly outings, has also become more social because of the events and is now friendlier with other kids.

How are the LifeSet monthly outings put together? Where does the money come from? The LifeSet program is an evidenced based modality developed by Youth Villages and administered in partnership with Catholic Charities.

Brooke Renkens, service area director, Catholic Charities Diocese of Metuchen, said, “The agency is out of Tennessee and incentivized levels of service, and a monetary incentive, that’s where the money comes from for all these events.”

Renkens went on to say, “strict standards make the program successful, it’s a program that supports a population that doesn’t get support.” She loves seeing young adults achieve lifetime success, finish the program and come back.

Michelle Raskin, a LifeSet team supervisor who has been with program since 2020 and with Catholic Charities for nine years, reflected on the program, saying, “I am pumped to have influence on the program and be able to build it and mold it. … to see how far the program has come is drastic.”

Young adults must be involved with DCP&P and be in an out of home placement at the time of enrollment of the program. All referrals must come through the Office of Adolescent Services and Young Adults are pre-screened for eligibility.

For more information about Catholic Charities Diocese of Metuchen or the LifeSet program please visit ccdom.org

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Workman is the Communications Specialist in the Office of Communications and Public Relations