POST FALLS — When children in foster care turn 18, they “age out” of the system and are often left with no support of any kind as they enter adulthood.

Many leave with nothing more than a small bag of personal items. One in five instantly become homeless without outside support.

For Marie Widmyer, Mrs. Idaho American 2021, businesswoman and wife of former Coeur d’Alene Mayor Steve Widmyer, she experienced this firsthand.

“I grew up in foster care and aged out at 18,” she said Thursday. “I remember walking across the stage at graduation and not one person was out there for me.”

Widmyer has turned her experience into a passion for helping other foster children make the transition with some much needed support.

Among her other responsibilities, she serves on the board of Safety Net of the Inland Northwest. Safety Net provides foster youth with all of the basic household necessities one needs when moving out on their own.

Two local warehouses are stocked with new and gently used household items. Foster care alumni can “shop” and select items to furnish their first apartments.

A donation drive is being hosted Saturday at Safety Net’s Post Falls warehouse. A nonprofit, Safety Net is 100% community supported. They need the public’s help to collect needed items.

Their wish list includes: small loveseats, dressers, desks, coffee and end tables, bookcases, dining tables and chairs, pot and pan sets, dish sets, silverware and cooking utensils, glasses, gently used small kitchen appliances, baking items, food storage containers, cleaning supplies, toilet paper, paper towels, mops, broom and dustpan sets, trash cans, laundry baskets and vacuums.

Other needed items include laundry soap, new, full size bedding and sheet sets, small tool sets, first aid kits, lightbulbs, batteries and gift cards for grocery shopping or restaurants.

Bring your new and gently used donations Saturday between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to the Post Falls warehouse at 202 Seltice Way.

Often the young adults receiving help from Safety Net will be moving their belongings alone, so petite items are best, Widmyer said.

“Think small items for small spaces,” Widmyer said.

According to a report by Casey Family Programs, about 7% of foster children in Idaho will age out of the system annually. In 2019, there were about 1,740 youth in Idaho’s foster care system, and there are about 424,000 currently in the system nationwide.

Safety Net cannot accept used mattresses or linens, large furniture items (hide-a-beds, hutches, large dinettes), china or holiday dish sets, stereo systems or older TVs, office furniture or clothing.

Information: call 509-863-9431, email [email protected] or visit safetynetinlandnw.org.