What happens when the teenagers in our home turn 18?
For many young people, adulthood begins with excitement, but also uncertainty. Turning 18 means making decisions that suddenly feel very real: finding work, continuing school, learning responsibility, and stepping into independence. It’s a season filled with hope, but also fear.
At Forever Changed International, we walk through those moments closely with our teens.
Alejandra recently reached adulthood and is now preparing to leave our home as she searches for work. Ulises is getting ready to graduate and begin the same transition soon. These are milestones worth celebrating, but they also come with questions about what comes next.
So we prepare with them. A few months before a teen turns 18, we sit down together and talk honestly about adulthood, goals, and the future they want to build. Some want to continue studying while staying in our home. Others are ready to begin working. Wherever they are, we help them take the next step with confidence.
Jenny, our Child Development Assistant, helps each young adult gather the paperwork needed to obtain their DPI, Guatemala’s national identification document, and goes with them through the process. Alejandra, our director, also meets with them to review the responsibilities that come with adulthood and continuing to live in the home.
We want them to understand something important: they are welcome here, but growing into adulthood also means learning accountability, responsibility, and independence.
One thing that we have come to learn is that every young adult’s path looks different. Myra is studying medicine and earned a scholarship to continue pursuing her dream. Ana and Bryan have already moved out and are now building stable, independent lives of their own.
When a young adult leaves our home, we don’t simply send them off and hope for the best. We help them find a safe place to live. We support them financially at the beginning while they adjust to working and managing expenses. Slowly, they begin taking on more responsibility until they’re able to fully support themselves. But even after they leave, they remain family.
We still call to check in. We ask if they’re eating well, washing their clothes, getting enough rest, small things that matter when someone is learning to navigate adulthood alone.
Alejandra, our director, shared: “One thing we always want them to know and remember is that we’ll always be here, and they can come back whenever they need to. During Holy Week, Myra wrote to us after finishing her hospital shift and asked if she could come home. She stayed for two days. Bryan also came during his vacation, and together they made “pepinos locos”. And even now, they continue returning, not because they have to, but because they know this is still home. Jenny, who now works and lives independently, got sick and reached out to us. She came to see Dr. Castro and afterward stopped to greet everyone. These moments remind us that they leave knowing the doors will always remain open for them. And if life becomes difficult, they know we’ll find a way to help.”
Think back to when you were 18. Maybe you had parents helping you fill out paperwork, a place to come home to, someone checking if you’d eaten dinner, someone reminding you not to give up when life felt overwhelming.
Our young adults need that too. Leaving the safety of the home doesn’t mean the need for support disappears. In many ways, it becomes even more important. This transition into adulthood can shape the course of their future.
Because of supporters like you, our teens aren’t stepping into adulthood alone. You’ve already been part of their story as children. Now, you can help them build stable, independent lives as young adults, through education, job preparation, housing support, and the reassurance that someone still cares.
And it’s working. They are graduating. Finding jobs. Pursuing careers. Building lives they once thought were out of reach.
We invite you to walk alongside them. This season of life can feel exciting, but also uncertain, and knowing they still have support makes all the difference. Your support helps provide the care, guidance, and stability they need as they take their first steps into adulthood.