Patricia Julianelle 1

NAEHCY National membership association dedicated to educational excellence for children and youth experiencing homelessness, from early childhood through higher education.  Local Youth Task Forces, State Higher Ed Networks, Early Childhood Bringing your voices to Congress and state legislatures.  Focus groups, surveys and informal polls  Legislation and policy guidance 2

NAEHCY’s Youth Homelessness 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 single agency or organization can meet all needs.  Yet who has the time to organize a community-wide effort for youth or work on the strategies generated? 3

Where, and Why? Rural, suburban, urban NRS and school district data Political significance Request Northeast TN; Guilford County NC; San Diego, Sacramento, San Luis Obispo CA; Laramie County WY; Detroit MI; Southern CT; Whidbey Island WA; San Antonio and Rio Grande Valley TX. 4

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. 5

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? 6

Step One: Gather Information to Identify Local Priorities We surveyed adults.  Service providers and community members We surveyed young people.  Unaccompanied homeless youth ages  Through service providers and schools Gave us guidance and legitimacy. 7

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. 8

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. 9

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) 10

11 From Local to State to National Task Forces have been instrumental in:  Passing 11 state laws in CA.  Passing 1 state law in TX (so far); 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.  Enlist young people as partners in action. 12

Resources Task Force summaries and Start-Up Kithttp:// policy/youth-task-forceshttp:// policy/youth-task-forces NAEHCY Awareness videos  Free on youtube.com/naehcy  For purchase, see naehcy.org/educational- resources/videos NAEHCY’s Housing + High School = Success  naehcy.org/educational-resources/housing-high-school- success 13

Roundtable Discussions How do you get the people you need around the table?  Law enforcement  Business  Child welfare How do you keep the people you need around the table?  Sustainability How do you enlist young people as partners in action? How do you get the funding you need to accomplish your goals and keep moving? 14