We sat down with Chante Hensley, Executive Director of Fostering Hope TN, one of the Women’s Fund’s newer Self-Sustainability grantees that has supported foster care, adoption, and kinship community in our area since 2013. Chante and her husband, Matt, have not only adopted nine children themselves but have also served as foster parents for 13 years, during which time they provided temporary care for more than 180 children. After living in Knoxville for many years, they recently relocated to Roane County. Even with such a busy family schedule, Chante took a few moments to share her story:
“Thank you so much to the Women’s Fund of East Tennessee for the 2025 grant award to support one of our most vulnerable populations—young women transitioning out of foster care. While we have provided care and support to youth ages 18–25 who have aged out of foster care for many years, we formally launched our Fostering Transitions program in 2022. These young adults—particularly young women—often lack stable family support, encouragement, and positive mentors. Many teenage girls exiting foster care face increased risks of homelessness, substance abuse, and human trafficking. Our primary goal is to help these young women feel supported and stabilized so they can successfully transition to independent adulthood.
Through the Fostering Transitions program, we assist young adults in securing employment, obtaining stable housing, accessing transportation, receiving clothing and childcare, and gaining ongoing mentorship. Many of the young women we serve remain connected with us for years, trusting our commitment to follow through and walk alongside them as they build their futures. Our work is not a temporary solution; it is an investment in breaking cycles and creating generational change. We are deeply grateful for the support that allows us to keep these young people off the streets and in environments where they are given hope and opportunity.
In addition to serving young adults, Fostering Hope TN was established to support foster, adoptive, and kinship families. Our Hope Over Hunger program provides emergency food assistance to families experiencing crisis. Our First Nights program was created to ease one of the most traumatic moments in a child’s life—the day they are removed into foster care—by providing food, clothing, and activities during their first nights while awaiting placement with a foster family. In total, we supported over 2500 individuals in 2025 through multiple programs and services thanks to our generous donors.”
Thank you so much, Chante, for sharing a little bit of the Fostering Hope story. Your organization is truly a difference-maker in our community. The Women’s Fund and our readers are rooting for you, Fostering Transitions, and the many programs you lead to better the lives of East Tennesseans!
