The Virtual Alt Fair Series, cohosted by Lilley Consulting, Prepare to Bloom, Fusion Academy, and Holden High School, wrapped up on July 7 after a six-week run!  The series consisted of 11 recorded webinars, with 43 programs that participated.  You can find all recordings available and downloadable on YouTube.

The original event, modeled after a traditional college fair, was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  What was then a virtual fair, evolved into a series of online resources for young adults and families exploring alternatives to college.  Programs that participated identify themselves as young adult transitional programs, gap year programs, failure to launch programs, recovery programs, wilderness therapy programs, vocational programs, virtual programs, and technical colleges.  Each program has its own client or participant profile.  Common themes for who is ideal for these programs include: Autism Spectrum Disorder, Failure to Launch, Anxiety, Depression, Family Conflict, Lack of Motivation, Educational/Academic Failures, and needing to learn social and independent life skills.

 “We wanted families to know that there are a lot of options out there other than a) going to college, b) participating in a gap year, and c) just staying at home and working,” said Lilley, “and we think we really started to raise awareness of those options through this series.”  All the programs that participated are unique, amazing, and it can be overwhelming for a family to understand which one to choose from.  If you or anyone you know is struggling to find a good fit for gap year opportunities, you can email joanna@lilleyconsulting.com or Shayna@PrepareToBloom.com.

About Lilley Consulting and Prepare to Bloom

Since 2016, Lilley Consulting has been helping families and young adults find treatment options during a time of transition or crisis.  Joanna dedicates herself to working solely with emerging adults who unravel before going to college, when they land on a college campus, or right after college graduation.  Young Adulthood can be messy, but it doesn’t have to be if you find the best treatment resources at the time that you need them.

Prepare To Bloom is a San Francisco Bay Area-based therapeutic and educational consulting firm devoted to helping families make sound therapeutic and educational choices, assisting families and their children to find treatment options regionally or out of the home. Founded in the spring of 2011, by Shayna Abraham, MA, CEP, Prepare to Bloom consultants visit over 50 different treatment programs per year. The team works with families around the United States and around the globe.