Youth Programs
Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP)
In 2021, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded a grant to CFTH, Lead Agency to The Way Home — the collective effort to prevent and end homelessness in Houston and throughout Harris, Fort Bend, and Montgomery counties, Texas — for the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP).
The goal of the YHDP is to support The Way Home in the development and implementation of a plan to prevent and end youth homelessness. A Youth Action Board (YAB) — made up of youth & young adults with lived experience of homelessness — provides strategic direction and oversight to the activities connected to the YHDP.
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Need Help?
Experiencing Crisis and Need Extra Support?
Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD
24/7 Crisis Access Line
(Local) 713-970-7000
(Toll Free) 866-970-4770
Youth and Young Adult Resources
Youth Services Portal
YHDP has integrated a Youth Services Portal into Show the Way, our public access app designed to connect individuals with critical resources. This new portal makes it easier for youth experiencing homelessness to find and access support services in real time.
If you need any assistance getting connected to youth services, please fill out the form below:
“We must be willing to get rid of the life we have accepted, so that we may obtain the life that is destined for us.” - Houston YAB
Youth Action Board (YAB)
Through the YHDP, The Way Home has partnered with youth & young adults with lived experienced of homelessness to create a Youth Action Board (YAB). The YAB provides strategic direction and oversight to the activities connected to the YHDP. As a formal component of The Way Home, the YAB provides direct input on all issues related to youth homelessness with a near-term focus on the development of the Coordinated Community Plan.
The YAB is an authentic and equitable partner in every step of the community’s youth homeless response efforts, from planning to implementation of new projects to continuous quality improvement of the youth homeless response system.
Funded YHDP Partners
In September 2021, The Way Home Continuum of Care (CoC), our local homeless response system, received the fourth-highest award in the country -- $10,357,612.79 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) -- for the Youth Homeless Demonstration Program (YHDP). The YHDP provides our community with the funding, technical assistance, and flexibility to develop and implement a coordinated community approach to youth homelessness that matches the needs, assets, constraints, and preferences of our community stakeholders.
The goal of the YHDP is to support The Way Home in the development and implementation of a plan to prevent and end youth homelessness. A Youth Action Board (YAB) — made up of youth & young adults with lived experience of homelessness — provides strategic direction and oversight to the activities connected to the YHDP.
