Our History
Peter and Julie Bartolini are the founders of Firm Foundation Youth Homes (FFYH). Peter has spent the over 30 years working with and advocating for children who come from hard places. In 2004, Peter and Julie became foster parents through Christian Family Care and have had nearly 20 kids placed in their home. Since 2001, Peter has worked with Royal Family Kids’ Camp and Hope & a Future, putting on week-long summer camps and a life-skills mentoring program for kids who are in foster care. Peter has also served as a speaker and trainer for Grace Based Families, a national ministry that helps parents raise truly great kids. Julie is a trained practitioner for Trust-Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI®). Peter and Julie are currently raising 5 kids ranging in age from 12 to 21.
In 2010, while fostering a 16-year-old, Peter and Julie became aware of the how group homes worsened the relational trauma foster kids experience and the need for a better solution. They purchased their first home, Gigi’s Cottage, in November 2015 and then in July 2016 they were awarded a contract with the Department of Child Safety (DCS) and welcomed their first kids. In addition to operating a children’s home, they train and educate professionals, volunteers, and foster families to connect more relationally with the children under their care.
In March 2022, Scottsdale Bible Church (SBC) came alongside FFYH as part of their “For the Valley” vision to help address foster and adoption needs in Arizona. Together, SBC and FFYH share a commitment to serving foster children and supporting foster and adoptive families. SBC is providing leadership and strategic direction for Gigi’s Cottage enabling FFYH to focus on caring for the children and furthering our mission.
What makes this opportunity with SBC so beautiful is that Peter & Julie have attended Scottsdale Bible since the 1990’s – Gigi’s Cottage is the fruit of seeds planted long ago!
It's important to consider that Peter and Julie are average people who simply recognized a problem and, noticing the desperate need to provide a better option, decided to do something about it. At Gigi's Cottage, Firm Foundation Youth Homes is building a replicable model for how to care for kids in congregate care. Unfortunately, state agencies cannot mandate relational healing. Moreover, implementing the Trust-Based Relational Intervention model of care is challenging for caregivers and requires lots of support, encouragement, and training.
Firm Foundation Youth Homes is non-profit organization by design. Kids need more than what our state governments provide. Foster care is a community-based problem and we have created a community-based solution.
