ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - “Move-In Day Mafia” has worked for three years to help kids aging out of foster care with a dorm makeover. This year, the organization made a stop at Albany State University (ASU) to spread some magic.

Founder TeeJ Mercer started the organization to help students who have aged out of foster care settle into college life.

This year, they said they plan to make stops at 13 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and recently helped four incoming freshmen at ASU. When the season is done, they will have helped 107 students at 27 HBCUs in the three years they have been operational.

“The students that we are moving in today have beat tremendous odds. First of all, the statistics are that 70% of kids in foster care dream of college yet only 3% go, and only 1% graduate,” Mercer said. “So, the students who were already moving in have already beat the odds.”

After aging out of foster care, Kya Hammond was staying with a relative who had promised her a place to live. A few days before ASU’s move-in, the relative told Hammond she needed to find other living arrangements, so Hammond was briefly left without housing.

Hammond said she’s overwhelmed with gratitude for the support she’s receiving from the Move-In Day Mafia, especially after a time when she said she felt worthless.

“I didn’t have faith, and it was just a rough time period in my life where I never want to go back to that,” Hammond said. “Now, I’m a little more at ease. I can relax just a little bit. My guard is still up, but I can take it slow.”

Mercer said the plan is to continue to grow and eventually do this at every HBCU in the country. She said she will continue to support her scholars by facilitating her ‘Adopt a Scholar Week’ that she hosts every month. Mercer said giving students that support wouldn’t be possible without local communities.

If you would like to support the organization, you can visit moveinmafia.org.

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