1. CENTRAL YOUTH NEEDS ASSESSMENT MEETING
Tuesday, June 6, 2017

2. Agenda Introduction Needs Assessment Determining Priorities Wrap Up
Brief Overview of Ending Homelessness in CT
Youth Dashboard for the Central Region
Housing Resources for Youth
Needs Assessment
Determining Priorities
Wrap Up

3. Timeline of significant milestones in Connecticut
2015
January 2015
Governor Malloy launches Zero:2016 effort to end chronic homelessness in Connecticut
February 2015
Coordinated Access is fully implemented when Greater New Haven CAN comes online
August 2015
Connecticut becomes the first state to end chronic homelessness for veterans
October 2015
All Connecticut CANs establish By Name List registries (BNLs)
2016
February 2016
Connecticut is certified as one of two states to end all homelessness for veterans
July 2016
Statewide 90 in 90 challenge, in which CANs verified 90% of chronic clients in 90 days
December 2016
All Chronic (Verified) homeless in Connecticut are matched to a housing resource

4. Connecticut operates as a coordinated statewide system
Balance of State
CoC
Waterbury/Litchfield CAN
Greater Hartford
CAN
Northeast
CAN 8
Coordinated Access Networks (CANs)
Central
CAN
Middlesex Meriden Wallingford CAN 2
Continuums of Care (CoCs)
Fairfield County
CAN
Southeast
CAN
Greater New Haven CAN
Opening Doors Fairfield County CoC
1 statewide system

5. Central Coordinated Access Network
Berlin
New Britain
Southington
Bristol
Plainville

6. Serving Unstably Housed and Homeless Youth

7. End Youth Homelessness by 2020
Drive down the number of youth experiencing housing instability to as close to zero as possible;
Enhance and coordinate systems and interventions to prevent new youth from entering into homelessness;
When a youth does fall into housing instability/homelessness, quickly identify and rapidly provide the assistance necessary for them to achieve housing stability; and
Ensure formerly homeless youth have the tools to remain in stable housing – employment, education, mediated family relationship or other permanent connections, appropriate services, etc.
End Youth Homelessness by 2020
Unaccompanied Youth aged 13-24, young families with HOH under 25 years old

8. 2017 CT Youth Count! Point in Time Count 2017
Estimated 4,396 Homeless and Unstably Housed Youth & Young Adults in Connecticut
74% between 18 – 24 years old
26% under 18 years old
29% identify as a member of the LGBTQ community
23% are pregnant or parenting (65% female)
17% indicated they feel unsafe in their living situation
18% indicated they have been encouraged, pressured or forced to exchange sexual acts for money, drugs, food, a place to stay, clothing, or protection.
41% indicated they had a chronic health condition, physical disability, severe mental illness, learning disability, or chronic substance abuse issue.
Point in Time Count 2017
3rd Year of Decline in Overall Homelessness
24% Decline in individual homelessness since 2007
60% drop in chronic homelessness since 2014

9. Collaboration to Meet Goal
YYA workgroup,
YHDP ($6.5+),
YETIs & CANs,
YAH

10. Goals For Today
Discuss existing data for your region on homeless youth and young adults
Discuss current housing and emergency resources for youth under 18 and young adults
Briefly discuss existing and planned coordinated entry process for youth in your CAN region.
These discussions will then inform discussion about gaps in service and prioritizing of region’s needs to serve housing unstable youth.

11. Created for YETI Needs Meetings 2017 | Questions/Comments – Contact beau.anderson@ct.gov

12. Created for YETI Needs Meetings 2017 | Questions/Comments – Contact beau.anderson@ct.gov

14. Central Emergency Shelters and their Capacity - Based on 2017 HIC
Name
Type
Capacity
Utilization
Friendship Service Center Shelter (New Britain)
Singles and Families
15 family beds (4 units)
16 male only
6 female only
98%
Prudence Crandall Center (New Britain)
Families, undesignated – domestic violence
15 family beds (5 units)
6 undesignated beds
95%
Salvation Army – New Britain Corps Community Center
Singles – males, seasonal (12/1 – 3/31)
30 male only beds
8 seasonal beds
79%
St. Vincent DePaul – Bristol ES
Families, undesignated
10 family beds (1 unit)
15 undesignated beds
92%
Waterbury (9), Hartford (12)
Short-term Family Integrated Treatment Program (S-FIT)
21 beds (under aged 18)
Not in HIC
Central Emergency Shelters and their Capacity - Based on 2017 HIC

15. Central Housing Inventory for Homeless (Based on 2017 HIC)
Type ES TH
RRH
PSH
Family Beds
40 (10 units)
16 (6 units)
4 (2 units)
91 (63 units)
Single Males 46
Single Females 6
Undesignated 21 17 2
142
Veteran 23
Youth
(under 18)
S-FIT
Young Adult
211 fund
Start Program
Seasonal
Overflow
Total
113 56
233
Youth/Young Adult Specific Programs:
Start Program (The Connection) – RRH/ES aged – serves approx. 80 statewide via RRH
S-FIT Program – ES under 18
Friendship Service Center TH
211 Young Adult Emergency Funds

16. 1. Engagement and Outreach
How confident are you that you are reaching all youth and young adults?
What programs exist dedicated to outreach for youth? I
What engagement/outreach programs exist that include youth and have specific attention paid to youth?
Do mobile services exist in this region that serve youth (such as mobile food, mobile healthcare, etc.)?
Where do unstably housed youth and young adults go for help in your region?

17. 2. Triage (Coordinated Entry)
How does Coordinated Entry for youth and young adults work in your region?
Diversion?
Mediation?
Youth Navigator role?
Follow up with youth?
Assessments?

18. 2. Triage (Emergency Housing)
Youth Specific (under 18)
Young families
Young Adult Specific
Serves young adults/youth but does not have special services dedicated to them
Serves adults but has specific accommodations such as private bathroom, designated areas, etc. for young adults
Other emergency housing options used? (hose homes, churches, relative search, DCF, DMHAS, CSSD, DOC.)
If there are no shelter or emergency beds available, what do you do for the above population?
What are some barriers to using these emergency housing options such as a prioritization, specific demographic capacity, young adult choice – refusals?

19. 2. Triage/Transitional housing
Transitional Housing Usage.
What are youth TH resources in your region?
Criminal Justice?
HHS funded?
DCF?
Do you utilize TH for emergency housing?
How do you prioritize for TH?
How do you prioritize for single young adults?
How do you prioritize for young families?

20. 3. Permanent Housing Options: What does your region have?
Youth under 18 (DCF, family reconnection, other?) i
Young adults (RRH, PSH, other (such as security deposit assistance, PHA preference?)
RRH anything dedicated specifically to youth/young adults/young families? i
What are the barriers to accessing these resources? Possible issues include: prioritization, length of time homeless v. youth status, involvement with CAN, systems v. provider driven i
Affordable housing – what is your supply? What are your barriers to access? (such as need security deposit assistance)

21. 4. Community Needs Question:
How do you think the community could serve homeless youth better, without additional funding? Do you have a specific suggestion, strategy, or idea for improving services?
How would you alter existing models to better suit needs of youth/young adults?
Thinking creatively, if you had flexible funding, what assistance would help youth/young adults stay safe during housing crisis and/or help them get permanently housed in your region?
If you had $200,000 to spend on ending youth homelessness, what would be your housing priorities (outreach/engagement – permanent housing) broken down by percentages?

22. Regional Prioritization Activity
Voting Activity
Please go around the room and place your sticker as a vote for the program you would like to see prioritized for your community.

23. Submit to Mimi Haley and Katie Durand by July 12, 2017.
Written Needs Assessment Submission
All interested stakeholders should collaborate with your YETI & CAN leads to complete a needs assessment for your region.
YETI’s must incorporate community feedback into their needs assessment.
Needs assessment posted on CCEH website, link will be shared with all in attendance and other interested stakeholders
Submit to Mimi Haley and Katie Durand by July 12, 2017.