1. United Way of Mid-Maine Youth Homelessness Initiative
Camille Gross, Christina McCourt, Eleanor Powell, Molly Nash
167 students were identified as “homeless” or “at risk for homelessness” by the District Homeless Liaisons.
UWMM partnered with the Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter, Revitalize the Energy in Maine (REM), and the Maine Children’s Home for Little Wanderers to run the Greater Waterville Forum on Youth Homelessness, an important awareness-raising community initiative.
Pilot Program
Reassessment
Grant Budget:
Sustainability:
With the fundraising efforts of UWMM, our $10,000 will be spread out over a period of three years:
Year 1: $5,000 CUSP
$2,500 UWMM
Year 2: $3,000 CUSP
$4,500 UWMM
Year 3: $2,000 CUSP
$5,500 UWMM
After the third year, UWMM fundraising efforts will be established and self reliant.
Program Overview
Our grant proposal requests $10,000 from the Colby Undergraduate Student Philanthropist (CUSP) Foundation to be allocated over a three-year period in support of United Way of Mid-Maine’s Youth Homelessness Initiative. The initiative provides homeless or at-risk of homelessness youth in junior high and high school (grades 5-12) with the basic needs required to stay in school and work toward earning a high school diploma. The entire $10,000 would be distributed throughout at least nine school districts in northern Kennebec, Somerset, and western Waldo counties based on the number of homeless students in each district. School districts are mandated by the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to have a District Homeless Liaison, who in our case, will identify faculty or staff members at each school in their district to be direct liaisons to homeless students. This liaison will be responsible for identifying homeless students and then providing them the resources they need to stay in school. These resources may include but are not limited to food, clothing, transportation to school, or school supplies. Mid-year and end of the year evaluations will be completed by the liaisons to ensure efficiency of the project.
A unique feature of our grant is its sustainability. The initiative requires $7,500 to run each year, but our organization, United Way of Mid Maine (UWMM), will establish fundraising initiatives such as the Walk to End Youth Homelessness to support funding. The first three years of the initiative, through the school year, will use a combination of CUSP and UWMM funds, with CUSP funds gradually decreasing as UWMM funds increase and after four years completely sustain the Youth Homelessness Initiative.
Homelessness in Maine
Based on an online survey conducted by United Way of Mid-Maine, “homelessness” was named the 17th (out of 43) most pressing issue, while “hunger and malnutrition” were ranked as the 22nd.
Unaccompanied homeless youth do not qualify for assistance from homeless shelters in the UWMM service area because they are under the age 18. The closest homeless shelter that assists unaccompanied youth is in Portland, ME (which is outside of UWMM’s service area).
Therefore, UWMM’s Youth Homelessness Initiative is the only program in the area capable of aiding our target population of 5-12th grade.
According to District Homeless Liaisons in the UWMM service area, the numbers of homeless or at risk of homelessness youth are dramatically rising, and thus, the need for resources and action is pressing.
Risk of Homelessness
Youth experiencing homelessness for at least one night in the United States range from 500,000 to 1.7 million.
According to the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, “homeless” refers to “an individual who lacks a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence, including children and youth:
Sharing housing due to loss of housing or economic hardship
Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks or camping grounds due to lack of alternative adequate housing
Living in emergency or transitional housing
Awaiting foster care
Having a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, regular sleeping accommodations
Living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings
Migratory students meeting the descriptions above”
(Source:
Students who are “at risk for homelessness” are those children and/or youth who have parents who cannot or will not care properly for them or those who have an unstable home environment due to other factors.
For the Youth Homelessness Initiative, “youth” refers to those in grades 5-12.
Evaluation:
Responsibility:
Desired Outcomes:
UWMM is broken up into three individual Community Impact Teams (CITs). The Youth Homelessness Initiative is housed under the Strengthening Children, Youth, and Families CIT.
This CIT is led by two UWMM employees, but much of the work is carried out by a team of volunteers.
This allows the initiative to run without overhead costs because the salaries of UWMM employees are covered by United Way, volunteers are not paid, and the federal government compensates District Liaisons.
To help reach our desired outcomes, UWMM will be in touch with District Liaisons over the summer to plan the coming school year.
Then throughout the year, District Liaisons will receive two evaluations (one in December and one in June) to report how much money has been utilized, what it was used for, and how it has affected students.
These evaluations will allow us to understand exactly how much of an impact CUSP money is having and to better allocate funds amongst schools.
To have at least 9 of the 12 school districts in United Way of Mid-Maine’s service area agree to participate during the coming school year.
For 100% of participating partner school districts to identify homeless or at-risk for homelessness students.
To provide assistance for all students who demonstrate a need for help.
For 100% of students who utilize resources from the initiative to earn a high school diploma.