26 th Annual Conference October

NAEHCY’s Unaccompanied Youth Projects Working with youth, service providers and community members to develop creative strategies to support unaccompanied youth. Started as a 3-year project, 9 communities Studies show that coordination among youth services can greatly improve outcomes.  339 at-risk youth programs spread across 12 different federal agencies  No one agency or organization can meet all the needs.  Yet no one has the time to organize a community-wide effort for youth or work on the strategies generated. 2

Unaccompanied Youth Project: Where, and Why? Rural, suburban, urban NRS and school district data Community infrastructure Political significance Northeast TN, Guilford County NC, San Antonio TX, San Diego and Sacramento CA, Laramie County WY, Detroit and Oakland County MI, Southern CT 3

Unaccompanied Youth Project: What’s the Overall Goal? Identify what youth need to reach their goals Identify creative strategies to meet those needs through interagency cooperation Identify new partners to energize efforts and contribute new resources. 4

Task Force Membership NAEHCY is working with youth, schools, service providers, city and county government, faith community, legal services, and community members to develop creative strategies to support unaccompanied youth. Leadership and active participation of youth and young people are critical!  This requires deliberate focus: Where and when do you meet? How do you initially engage youth? What projects will they choose to invest in? 5

Step One: Gather Information to Identify Local Priorities We surveyed adults.  Service providers and community members We surveyed youth  Unaccompanied homeless youth ages  Through service providers and schools Gave us guidance and legitimacy 6

What do Youth Need? Food Transportation Clothes and hygiene supplies Employment Medical and dental care Safe, stable housing 7

What are the Greatest Barriers to Youth Seeking/Receiving Services? Fear of referral to police, parents, foster care Transportation Parental consent / Paperwork reqs. Lack of services 8

Step Two: Choose 1-2 Tangible Priorities to Start Work Tangible: You’ll know when you’ve achieved it. Short-term: You can achieve it within a few months. Reasonable: It should be doable with little to no funding and with a small core team. Meaningful: It should make a difference to young people and other task force members. Leadership: Know that at first, you will need to have a major role, but enlist partners from day one. 9

The Experiences of Three Task Forces Sacramento, California Laramie County, Wyoming Detroit, Michigan 10

Sacramento: What are some of your most exciting achievements? Active Youth Council A2B Bike Giveaway: gave 50 bikes to youth Including homeless youth in local efforts to end homelessness New County funding for 6-bed TAY shelter 11

Sacramento: Sacramento: What or who are some keys to those successes? Youth Inclusion We provide snacks! Regular meeting schedule Efficient discussions that lead to actionable results Focus on sustainability, diffusion of labor 12

Sacramento: Sacramento: What key people/agencies keep the task force moving and productive? Local Continuum of Care McKinney-Vento liaisons Statewide youth advocacy organization (CCY) EDs from youth-serving orgs (Wind, Tubman House) Local electeds 13

Sacramento: Sacramento: Who are some key people/agencies missing from the group? Law Enforcement Local Businesses Child welfare 14

Sacramento: Sacramento: When you first were getting started, what were some of the biggest challenges? How did you address them? Sustainability  Encouraging others to take ownership & leadership Youth input  Youth Council: Your Voices Matter! 15

Sacramento: Sacramento: At this stage in the task force, what are the biggest challenges? In terms of structure: Consistently enlisting youth as partners in action Keeping the momentum In terms of the issues: Increasing housing capacity along a continuum Reversing the trend of criminalizing homelessness 16

Laramie County Community Partnership Strong Families Action Team, Homeless Youth Initiative What are some of your most exciting achievements? July 2013 – Facilitated a retreat with 25 representatives from non-profit, school, and State government – Retreat ended with three main goals:  Outreach and communication to homeless youth regarding resources and to the community educating the need  Safe stable housing – possibly using Host Home Program  Access to medical and behavioral health care October 2014 Halloween Youth Resource Fair School Year Youth Task Force September Implemented Host Home Program – partnership with Catholic Charities of Wyoming Broke down silos with our broad coalition 17

Laramie County Community Partnership Strong Families Action Team, Homeless Youth Initiative What are some of your most exciting achievements? New Initiative  Boarding/Rooming House 18

Strong Families Action Team, HYI What or who are keys to those successes? Youth willing to express their opinions Collaboration and the support of the Laramie County Community Partnership Community Donations:  Meeting Rooms – City of Cheyenne & Wyoming Department of Health  Incentives for Youth Resource Fair  Employees time to attend coalition meetings Funders  United Way  Wyoming Business Council  Wyoming Institute of Population Health  Catholic Charities of Wyoming  NAEHCY Strength and determination of the Strong Families Action Team 19

Strong Families Action Team, HYI What key people/agencies keep the task force moving and productive? Strong Families Action Team: 20  United Way  Wyoming Institute of Population Health  Wyoming Department of Education  Laramie County School District #1  Wyoming Family Home Ownership Program  Wyoming Department of Workforce Services  Bethany Christian Services  City of Cheyenne  WYhealth  Faith Nurses  Bank of the West  Wyoming Citizen Review Panel  Military One Source  Realtor Association (new)

Strong Families Action Team, HYI What are some key people/agencies missing from the group? Laramie County Department of Family Services Juvenile justice Residential centers Local law enforcement 21

Strong Families Action Team, HYI At this stage, what are your biggest challenges? Strategies to address those challenges? Funding  Working with the Realtor Association  Bank representative on committee  Securing grants  Partners that have sustainable funding i.e. Catholic Charities of Wyoming  Wyoming Business Council opened another source of public funding due to Strong Families request for a technical grant 22

Strong Families Action Team, HYI Challenges (cont.) Liability  Creatively designing program  Meet with DFS to clarify roles  Support from NAEHCY Location of property  Collaboration with Realtors and Banks Staffing  Partnering with University of Wyoming for a graduate intern from the Social Work program  Volunteers from the faith-based communities 23

Michigan Task Force: Some of your most exciting initiatives ?  Jobs Skills Training Pop-Up Workshops Underway  Adopting a Soft Skills Training Curriculum to present in the community  In the process of applying for a local community grant to support this project  Location Underway: Osborn High school, Alternatives for Girls and Community and Schools Clothing: Partnership with Goods360 underway  Clothing drive project underway Transportation project underway: Carpooling  Solicited letters to providers of drivers training to see if youth could receive discounts 24

Michigan initiatives (cont.) Social Media Presence  Facebook Page  Live Website with job updates and resources coming soon  Links to clothing banks and housing resources for homeless youth on live website Youth Council Initiative  Tigers Game Advocacy  Task Force advocated on behalf of citizens amid Detroit’s Water Crisis 25

Michigan Task Force : ? Michigan Task Force : What or who are some keys to those successes? Youth Voice Strategic Relationship Building Youth Advocates Core group of task force members Not giving up! 26

Michigan: Michigan: What key people/agencies keep the task force moving and productive? NAEHCY Matrix Human Services Detroit Public Library Vista Maria Osborn High School McKinney Vento Liaisons from Detroit Public Schools and EAA and Community and Schools Oakland County Public School’s staff South Oakland Shelter Youth Advocates YOUTH VOICE!! 27

Michigan: Michigan: Who are some key people/agencies missing from the group? Business Leaders Community Members Transportation Authority Homeless Liaisons DHS Workers Faith Community Colleges and Universities College Students Policy Makers Youth Serving Agencies 28

Michigan: Michigan: When you first were getting started, what were some of the biggest challenges? How did you address them? Weather  Rescheduling meetings Securing Meeting Locations  Scheduling meetings at rotating locations in advance Community Participation  Local visits and pop ups Youth Council: Your Voices Matter! 29

Michigan: Michigan: At this stage, what are some of your biggest challenges? Strategies to address them?  Recruiting Youth  Assistance with transportation  Incentives: Food, Outings  Youth Council Initiatives Attendance on Conference Calls More frequent reminders In-person meetings Consistent Meeting Attendance  Schedule meetings ahead of time  Share task so members will feel involved 30

Michigan: Michigan: Current challenges and strategies (cont.) Sustainability  Apply for grants  Research  Assigning internal leadership  Obtaining match funding for projects from partners Key Leaders at the table Bring Awareness : Increase Social Media Presence and Marketing Material 31

32 From Local to State to National Task Forces have been instrumental in:  Passing 8 state laws in CA  Passing 1 state law in TX (so far)  Getting bipartisan support for the Homeless Children and Youth Act

33 Contact Information Patricia Julianelle   (202)