This is the second addition to our blog series outlining common transition concerns, and highlighting possible interventions that work! Last week we talked about Eric B. and Aaron, learning to cook for college. This week, we have another awesome coach, Sol, who is working with her client on getting around Los Angeles.

 Sol has been on the Advance LA team for several months and has supported many young people in reaching their goals. She is a dynamic coach, always coming up with creative and cool interventions that ultimately lead to increased independence and self-confidence for her clients.

Challenge: One of Sol’s clients, Katie, has just graduated high school and will be attending a local college in the fall. Katie doesn’t drive, but she and her parents agree that she needs to become more independent before she’ll be ready to live on her own. Sol and Katie talked and they decided that one of the first steps in increasing her independence would be for her to figure out how to get around on her own—so that she wouldn’t have to rely on her parents for rides everywhere!

Goal: Katie wants to become more independent and learn how to get around Los Angeles on her own, so that when she starts college she’ll feel more comfortable getting around by herself.

 Intervention: At first, Sol and Katie looked up convenient bus routes from her house, on the internet. Then, they wrote down where she might want to go, and mapped out explicit routes from her house and back. Katie enjoys surfing, so one of the first places they went was Santa Monica. The first couple of times, Sol met Katie at her house and they rode the bus together. After Katie was more comfortable, Sol would still meet her at the house, but would have Katie lead the way. As Katie became even more comfortable, Sol and Katie would make a plan beforehand for Sol to meet Katie somewhere along the route, so that they only rode together for a portion of the route. Eventually, Sol encouraged Katie to map out the routes herself and would make a plan to meet her at the destination. 

 Outcome: Just last week, Sol met Katie at the beach and they spent the afternoon talking about what kinds of goals they could conquer next! Katie took the bus by herself, the whole route, and even said to Sol on the way home, “I think I’ve really got this now!”

 Plan: Since Katie will be attending college a further distance from her house, their next step is to explore the bus routes and public transportation options near the campus. Katie requested that they learn the bus routes to the closest beaches from her college dormitory.