SOUTH TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) — A new campus near FAMU will bring together housing, career support, mentorship, and life skills for young people transitioning out of foster care.
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Before Smart Dreams Academy officially opens, some of the young adults it is designed to help are already finding direction and support there.
Founder Mike Williams calls the young adults in the program "dreamers" — young people transitioning from foster care into adulthood who may be navigating housing, work, education, and finances without a permanent family support system. Smart Dreams Academy is designed to bring many of those resources together in one place.
"A lot of times young people want to strive after something, but really don't know how to get there in the weeds of it, and the weeds for us and basically principles and values and the roadmap, and so this campus is all about helping young people come to a safe space that allows them to develop a vision, a roadmap, but excepts all of the challenges along that journey," Williams said.
Florida health data shows 361 children ages 17 and younger were in foster care in Leon County in 2024. That is almost 150 more than a decade earlier.
Jermaine Ward says he was facing homelessness when he was introduced to Smart Dreams. He had ideas about his future but says he was not completely sure which direction he wanted to take.
"I knew, like, what I wanted to do, but I wasn't 100% sure with myself if that's what I wanted to do for real, but when I got introduced in to Smart Dreams, I like the people that's around me, like the community, the Smart Dreams community, they like help me actually figure out what I wanted to do with myself," Ward said.
That kind of support is what Smart Dreams plans to expand when the academy officially opens. The campus, just a block from FAMU, brings together housing, career and education support, mentorship, financial literacy, and everyday life skills.
For Casey Rollins, having that support has taken on an even more personal meaning.
"Wow, like, if I could like express Smart Dreams in a few words, feel like all I got really. It's like that's how much it means to me," Rollins said.
Smart Dreams Academy will celebrate its grand opening August 22nd. Williams says he wants the community to be involved.
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