Webinar, October 27,

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

Where, and Why? Rural, suburban, urban NRS and school district data Political significance Request Northeast TN; Guilford County NC; Rio Grande Valley and San Antonio TX; San Diego, Sacramento, San Luis Obispo CA; Laramie County WY; Detroit MI; Southern CT; Whidbey Island WA 3

What’s the Overall Goal? Identify what young people 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. Engage young people as leaders. 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

Task Force Outcomes New independent living program for homeless youth in TN; has won state and national awards. Host home program in WY; exploring this in RGV. CPS diversion program for homeless youth in TN. $200,000 in new local funding for housing and drop-in services in WY and CA. Increases in identification of homeless youth in schools in TN by 39% Bike distributions in MI and CA. Legal and dental clinics in NC and CA. 10

Task Force Outcomes Young people are leading efforts in MI, TX, CA, CT. Information on services available to youth via electronic means and dog tags in TX, MI, CA. Youth-produced awareness videos (youtube.com/naehcy). 11

12 From Local to State to National Task Forces have been instrumental in:  Passing 11 state laws in CA.  Passing 1 state laws in TX; adding housing questions to TX YRBS.  Getting bipartisan support for the Homeless Children and Youth Act.  Securing new national guidance from USDA facilitating SNAP access for unaccompanied youth.

Task Force Challenges Sustainability  Take time to assess and refocus.  Seek a home in an organization with capacity to sustain efforts and obtain results.  Engage diverse partners.  Young leadership. Check out NAEHCY’s Task Force Start-Up Kit: force-start-up-kit 13

Youth Homelessness: Taking Stock of Your Community POLLS 14

The Experiences of Three Task Forces Sacramento, California Detroit, Michigan Miami, Florida 15

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  PIT Count  Youth-led media narratives New County funding for 6-bed TAY shelter 16

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 17

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 18

Sacramento: Sacramento: Who are some key people/agencies missing from the group? Law Enforcement Local Businesses Child welfare 19

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! 20

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 21

Michigan Task Force: Some of your most exciting initiatives ?  Jobs Skills Training Pop-Up Workshops  Adopting a Soft Skills Training Curriculum to present in the community  Clothing: Partnership with Goods360 underway Transportation project : Pedal for A Purpose  Bike- A –Thon  Go Fund Me Fundraiser  Bike Giveaway – underway  Community Awareness Event 22

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 23

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 Perseverance 24

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!! 25

Michigan: Michigan: Who are some key people/agencies missing from the group? Business Leaders Law Enforcement Youth Serving Organizations 26

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! 27

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 28

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 29

Miami-Dade Youth Homeless Initiative 30 Leadership and Backbone support Steering Committees 7 Subcommittees Partnerships with over 40 community and government agencies

Miami-Dade Youth Homeless Initiative 31 Did a “Scan” to determine greatest barriers and needs. Committees will prioritize and develop action plans. Youth leadership through high schools.

iCount 2015 January 2016 During CoC PIT Count 2 weeks long 32

33 Contact Information Patricia Julianelle  Shahera Hyatt  Courtney Smith  Debra Albo 