HUD awards $75 million to help end youth homelessness

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is awarding $75 million to end youth homelessness in 23 local communities across the country, including eight rural areas. HUD’s Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) will help these communities to build local systems and will support a wide range of housing programs including rapid rehousing, permanent supportive housing, transitional housing, and host homes. This year’s funding level is significantly higher than the $43 million awarded last year.

“Homelessness is no way to start out in life for young people reaching adulthood,” said HUD Secretary Ben Carson. “Today we make another critical investment in the futures of our youth, sparing them a life on the streets or in our shelters and placing them on a path to self-sufficiency.”

“The solutions to youth homelessness that are being built and tested through HUD’s YHDP program represent community collaboration at its best,” said Matthew Doherty, Executive Director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. “We are confident that these communities, and their Youth Action Boards, will help lead us along the path to end youth homelessness in our country.”

HUD developed YHDP with youth in mind, relying upon the recommendations provided directly from young people who had experienced homelessness. To ensure that the program meets the needs of young people, HUD incorporated many of the same young people who provided recommendations on the program’s design in the application review process. Their assessment helped HUD ensure that grant applicants understood the needs and preferences of the young people they will serve.

HUD also worked closely with its federal partners to help develop the program and review applications, including the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Education (ED), and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH).

Recipients will use this funding to support a variety of housing options for young people under the age of 25 and who are experiencing homelessness. YHDP will also support youth-focused performance measurement and coordinated entry systems to quickly connect young people with other services and systems of care.

Over the next several months, the communities selected for these grants will work with their ‘youth action boards,’ child welfare agencies, and other community partners to create a comprehensive community plan to end youth homelessness. They will also participate in a program evaluation to inform the federal effort to prevent and end youth homelessness going forward and will serve as leaders in the nation on the work to end homelessness among young people.

HUD is awarding grants to the following communities: