MADISON COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) – Kids to Love has taken the next step in supporting local kids in foster care. The organization celebrated the official opening of five cottages on Saturday, meant to house girls ages 20 to 25.

“If we don’t provide something, they instantly become homeless,” said Kids to Love Founder Lee Marshall. “The statistics around kids aging out of the system are grim.”

The cottages are located on Davidson Farms, a group home for girls in the foster care system. Girls age out of living in the home when they turn 20, but these cottages will provide a buffer. Marshall said the program strives to provide more than just food and shelter, they work to create a family.

“This allows us to give them the stability of a home, in a loving environment on the Davidson Farms campus, so they can continue to be a part of the family at our main home, big sisters to the girls that live there, and it gives them a safety net,” Marshall said.

In the past, Kids to Love has worked with 19-year-olds to find local apartments, but Marshall said the cottages will allow for additional support. The girls will have the opportunity to continue living on the property, in their own space, while they finish their educations.

“It gives them that safety net,” Marshal said. “You can’t go to college by yourself. They have a team now on their back.”

Marshall said these tiny homes are the first of this type of transitional housing for youth aging out of foster care in the country. The cottages are the first phase of a larger project. Kids to Love is raising money to build more in the future.

If you are interested in donating to the program, click here.