The Cliff After Your 18th Birthday…

Why is turning 18 years old considered a cliff for young people growing up within Guatemala's system of protection?

What should be a gradual transition into adulthood often becomes a sudden and difficult step into independence when a young person turns 18. At that age, they are legally considered adults and are generally required to leave the group home or orphanage where they have been living, since they can no longer reside in a home designed for minors. In most cases, they must move shortly after their birthday.

Whether they have somewhere to go or not.

While most of us look forward with excitement to turning 18, the opposite is true for most of these young people. They are terrified of the cliff waiting ahead of them.

Imagine that you have been growing up within the system for years. Maybe you know why you are there. Maybe you don't.

Maybe you were abandoned by the family members you were living with. Maybe you were removed from your home because of severe neglect or abuse. Maybe a family member was trafficking you.

For many young people with stories like these, returning home at 18 is not a safe option.

So what do you do? What are your options?

As we visit homes around the country to introduce Casa de Gracia’s program and learn what options are available for their 16- and 17-year-olds, we encounter a great deal of anxiety and fear. Many of these young people do not know where they will go, how they will survive, or what will happen next.

Private homes and orphanages sometimes find ways to keep young people a little longer after they turn 18 while they search for safe options for what comes next. This is rare, but when possible, it may give a young person an extra month or slightly more before they have to walk out the door.

Government homes, on the other hand, have no choice but to send a young person out into the world the day they turn 18. It’s the law.

This is traumatic for all involved.

Our hope and prayer is that Casa de Gracia will be a place where fear and anxiety are replaced by hope and peace. As God’s love is shared each day, we pray each young person will find safety, have their needs met, and come to know Jesus more deeply.