For Aland Stamps, the mission behind River Jordan Inc. is deeply personal. Long before the nonprofit existed, Stamps experienced the foster care system firsthand.

Growing up in foster care, he remembers learning an important lesson while living at a large residential placement campus as a teenager. The program used a model called “positive peer culture,” where youth supported one another as they worked through challenges and progressed through the program.

“The idea was that peers help each other through the process,” Stamps said. “Staff provided oversight and direction, but the peers guided each other.”
That experience left a lasting impression.

“That’s where I learned the value of peer-to-peer support,” he said. “It’s like someone in recovery helping another person who is just beginning that journey. Someone who has been there understands in a way others can’t.”
But the path that eventually led to River Jordan was not a straight line.

A Personal Journey Before the Mission

After leaving the foster care system, Stamps faced struggles of his own. He battled addiction and spent time in prison before eventually finding recovery through treatment and personal reflection.
“At first I thought drugs were the problem,” he said. “But eventually I realized the real issue was my past and the childhood trauma I hadn’t dealt with.”
Through recovery and faith, Stamps began to rebuild his life and felt called to help others who had experienced similar challenges. Initially, he tried to serve that calling through other avenues, working as a recovery coach and opening a transitional home for people leaving treatment programs.
But the effort never gained the momentum he expected.
“I tried to do it my way,” Stamps said. “But it just wasn’t working.”
The turning point came years later when he returned to the same campus where he had once lived as a teenager. The property was closed, but the buildings still stood.
As he walked through the campus, memories came back. In the chapel he found an old prayer request book where youth once wrote down their hopes and fears.
“When I looked at it, the same things were written in there that I used to write,” he said. “Kids asking if their mom was okay, or saying they just wanted to go home.”
The realization stayed with him as he walked the grounds. Eventually, a thought crossed his mind: this campus would be a perfect place for transitional housing for young women aging out of foster care.
“At first I said it would be cool if someone did that,” he recalled. “But I didn’t think it would be me.”
The idea stayed with him for days.
“I kept saying no,” Stamps said. “It felt too big. I didn’t have the degree, I didn’t know the system, and I didn’t know anyone in that world.”
But eventually he accepted the calling and returned home determined to move forward.

A Community Steps Forward

Stamps began sharing the idea with others and started the process of forming a nonprofit. What happened next surprised him.
People began offering help. Community members assisted with paperwork, forming a board, and organizing a public meeting to introduce the concept.
The meeting took place at the Bay City Public Library in one of the largest rooms available.
“I thought nobody would show up,” Stamps said.
Instead, the room filled with community members. People lined the walls to hear his story and learn about the idea behind River Jordan. Lawyers, pastors, community leaders, and representatives from local agencies attended.
“When I stopped worrying about myself and started telling my story, that’s when everything changed,” he said.
Local media soon picked up the story. Shortly afterward, one of River Jordan’s board members met with a local business owner who had seen the coverage.
The business owner asked a simple question: how much would it take to get the program started?
When the board member estimated $100,000, the woman wrote a check on the spot.
Her reason was deeply personal.
“She said her mother had been in foster care,” Stamps said. “And if something like this had existed back then, it could have made a huge difference.”
From there, community support continued to grow.

Filling a Critical Gap

River Jordan was created to address a specific challenge facing young women ages 18 to 21 who age out of foster care.
Many of these young women enter the system later in childhood, often as preteens or teenagers. These are the hardest individuals to place in traditional foster homes, and many remain in group homes or residential facilities until they age out at 18.
“Once they leave, many of them have nowhere to go,” Stamps said.
Without stable support systems, these young women are particularly vulnerable to homelessness, exploitation, and trafficking. Many also struggle with untreated trauma and mental health challenges.
River Jordan provides a safety net specifically for these young women.
Participants can enter the program between the ages of 18 and 21 and receive up to two years of transitional support. During that time, they learn life skills, reconnect with mental health services, and prepare for independent living.
Residents also contribute a monthly program fee of $350. Rather than being used as rent, that money is saved and returned to them upon graduation to help them begin their next chapter.
“When they finish, they get a check back with all that money,” Stamps said. “Hopefully it helps them get an apartment, start a life, or move forward.”
Powered by Community Support
River Jordan operates almost entirely through community generosity.
About 80 percent of the organization’s funding comes from faith-based organizations and community donors. The remaining support comes from smaller grants and local partnerships.
“Without the community, we wouldn’t exist,” Stamps said.

Looking Ahead

Today, River Jordan serves young women across the Great Lakes Bay Region. Looking ahead, Stamps hopes to expand the model to other regions of Michigan.
“We’re the only program like this in the area,” he said. “The goal is to duplicate the program in other parts of the state so more young women can get the help they need.”
For Stamps, the work is about giving others the opportunity he once needed himself.
“What these young women need is time, support, and a safe place to regroup,” he said. “If we can give them that, it can change the direction of their entire lives.”
River Jordan is also currently seeking additional board members who align with its core values: Passionate, Lead the Way, Do What You Say, Loyalty, and Servant’s Heart. Those interested can email their interest to alandstamps@riverjordaninc.org