What Does Transition-Aged Youth/Young Adult Mean?
Traditionally, the term “transition-aged” is defined as an individual who falls between the ages of 16-25. During this period of someone’s life, they are experiencing a lot of change in a very short amount of time, whether it is getting a job, graduating from high school, changes in physical or emotional health, living independently, getting involved (or being discharged) from juvenile or adult justice systems, attending college or vocational school, creating future plans…seriously, the list could go on and on, because the possibilities during this time are seemingly endless! It can also be a time of significant difficulties, particularly for those who have mental, emotional, or behavioral health challenges.
Because we are considered an adult at the age of eighteen, many services jump from child-serving to adult serving with little-to-no preparation of what that transition looks like–and those types of services are very different from one another! Not only that, but just because someone turns eighteen doesn’t always mean that they are prepared to take on all of the responsibilities of adulthood right away, and not everyone understands that. It can be difficult, or downright impossible, to transition to independence when everything feels really overwhelming and no one is around to help guide that process.
That’s where the North Carolina Healthy Transitions Initiative comes in.
