Blair Campus

The Blair Campus/Transformation Hill

The Blair Campus/Transformation Hill, now called Dana Village, is a national model for foster care support because it transformed an abandoned college campus into a vibrant, supportive intergenerational community focused on youth aging out of foster care. It helps these at-risk youth build stable, productive lives while supporting the community and its workforce needs. The model challenges traditional support systems by fostering workforce development and housing solutions that are sustainable, community-focused, and driven by human potential.

Key features include:

  • Holistic, wraparound support: Residents can receive not just housing but also job training, therapy, life skills coaching, and financial counseling, addressing all major barriers to successful adulthood.
  • Community integration: The campus fosters a “village” atmosphere, offering dining, social activities, and mentorship, helping youth build connections and stability they often lack after leaving foster care.
  • Workforce development: Partnerships with local employers provide job opportunities and training, supporting both economic independence for residents and local workforce needs.
  • Intergenerational living: The village also houses low-income seniors, creating opportunities for mentorship and mutual support between generations.
  • Replicable blueprint: The project’s success in reactivating a closed campus and addressing foster youth homelessness is designed to be scalable and replicable in other communities across the country.

This comprehensive approach addressed the root causes of homelessness among former foster youth and sets a new standard for both foster care transitions and campus revitalization.

Repurposing a college campus into this sort of support community provides communal spaces, and campus resources, such as a gymnasium for youth sports, libraries filled with books, and stages for community events. These communities can offer year-round housing, job training, life skills coaching, therapy, and mentorship all in one place, simplifying access to support and fostering a strong sense of civic pride.

Once stable, Angels Share sold the campus for $1 to LFS. Angels Share turned the 73 apartments it had developed and the remaining 10 buildings over to Lutheran Family Services, raised an additional $2.0 million of operating capital, and brought in a major investor for further campus development.