Community Champions: The Rightway Foundation

A nonprofit called The Rightway Foundation is tackling tough issues with youth who were in foster care.

If you grew up with a young life of emotional pain and trauma, how might your life play out? A nonprofit called The Rightway Foundation is tackling tough issues with youth who were in foster care.

The Rightway Foundation is a non-profit in Baldwin Hills founded by Franco Vega. It's about helping former foster youth stabilize through jobs, housing, and addressing trauma.

The foundation says when it comes to youth who experience foster care, 50% find themselves at some point with nowhere to go. They have an in-depth program called Operation Emancipation. When it comes to housing, they back youth by putting up the foundation's credit as security. Vega says they've had zero evictions.

Guillermo Omar Bonilla used to be unhoused. He's among the 50 youth the foundation has now in housing. As he swept up his apartment he expressed appreciation, saying, "They gifted me with a room."

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Vega's story is one of lived experience. He built The Rightway Foundation because he was emancipated from the system after being orphaned as a child and living with a neighbor who became his foster parent. After being in juvenile hall, he joined the Army. After much therapy, he focused on changing his life.

At SoFi Stadium, the Rightway Foundation was among 56 local nonprofits honored by the committee hosting Super Bowl LVI in Inglewood in 2022. The organizations were gifted with $10,000 grants and named Legacy Champions.