Nov. 1, the first day of National Homeless Youth Awareness Month, marked the start of a new coordinated, multi-agency effort to address youth and young adult homelessness in the Houston region.

In September 2021, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced an award of approximately $10.4 million for Houston to build systems to prevent and end youth and young adult homelessness as part of HUD’s Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP). Houston received the fourth-highest award in the nation that year.

“This new project will knock down known and unknown barriers for youth experiencing homelessness in Houston,” said Kenny Easley, a member of the project’s youth advisory board (YAB). “In the past, youth experiencing homelessness sometimes had to go off on their own tracks because the system didn’t always work for them. Now, we’ll be able to show them, ‘You’re not alone. You’re cared for.’”

The funds were awarded to the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County, 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 disbursement to select homeless youth-serving agencies.

Today, those agencies were announced:

• Covenant House Texas will provide transitional housing and rapid rehousing for youth and young adults.
• Grace Place will provide homelessness diversion resources for youth and young adults.
• Houston reVision will provide homelessness diversion resources for youth and young adults.
• SEARCH Homeless Services will perform street outreach and provide housing navigation for youth and young adults.
• Spring Branch Community Health Center will provide transitional housing and rapid rehousing for youth and young adults.
• Temenos CDC will provide permanent supportive housing (PSH) for youth and young adults with disabilities and/or complex needs.
• The Montrose Center will provide employment supports and homelessness diversion resources for youth and young adults.
• TLC Health & Wellness will help youth get on the path to permanent housing via Coordinated Access and will provide transitional housing and rapid rehousing for youth and young adults.

Tuesday Nov. 1 marked the beginning of a 2-year “demonstration period” for the agencies to build capacity, activate their programs, and show how a coordinated community approach can reduce youth homelessness.

From late 2021 into spring 2022, the Coalition worked with a youth advisory board (YAB), youth-serving agencies, and other nonprofit and community stakeholders to draft a comprehensive community plan to prevent and end youth homelessness. Approved by HUD in April 2022, the plan outlines how to end homelessness for youth (minors under the age of 18) and young adults (ages 18-24) who are not accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Youth and young adults with lived experience of homelessness participated in every meeting, provided input and expertise throughout, and held authority over approval for the final plan. Collective Action for Youth recruited and will continue to support the YAB.

“The process is really giving us our voice back,” said Easley.

“We have a crisis of ‘at-risk’ youth who are on the verge of homelessness, including youth who are about to age out of the foster care system,” said Mike Nichols, president and CEO of the Coalition for the Homeless. “Now, we have a plan in place and the right partners at the table to identify and engage youth in services, to expand and coordinate systems tailored to unique youth needs, and to facilitate youth access to services to maintain stability and help to break the cycle of homelessness.”

“Covenant House Texas has been providing help and hope to youth experiencing homelessness for nearly 40 years in Houston, which is why we know that meeting their complex needs takes a coordinated and collaborative approach. We are honored to be part of such a strong group of organizations working to break the cycle of homelessness and to give the resilience of youth an opportunity to pursue a new path,” said Leslie Bourne, executive director of Covenant House Texas. “We appreciate HUD’s investment in our community to help our youth build better futures for themselves.”

"Grace Place is so excited to work with the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Project to make youth homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring in our community,” said Courtney Sellers, executive director of Grace Place. “LGBTQ+ youth and their intersecting identities with race, ethnicity, and gender are overrepresented among youth experiencing homelessness, yet their voices have historically not been involved in the solution. We feel honored that our mission of providing nourishment, resources, and basic needs in an affirming space that works together with youth to achieve goals, is being given this opportunity to reach more youth and young adults and to include their voices in the greater work to end youth homelessness."

“Houston reVision has been seeing an increase in the number of unstably housed youth in the Houston area. In collaboration with The Way Home and our partner agencies, we look forward to helping Houston's youth and young adults connect with housing and education so that they can look forward to productive futures,” said Charles Rotramel, CEO of Houston reVision.

“We are very pleased to be able to focus on assisting Homeless Youth in the Spring Branch Service area,” said Marlen Trujillo, PhD, CEO of Spring Branch Community Health Center. “At SBCHC we understand that Housing is a vital part of the overall health and wellness of our community. We want to ensure we are doing our part to provide housing support as well as the other wraparound services for youth in our area.”

“Temenos CDC is honored to be able to continue to serve vulnerable populations exiting homelessness in the Greater Houston area,” said Eva Thibaudeau-Graczyk, CEO of Temenos CDC. “We look forward to working with our YHDP partners to create a better Houston for our young adults!”

“Over 40% of all homeless youth identify as LGBTQ+, and these youth face unique challenges due to a lack of cultural competency by traditional rehousing providers and direct discrimination in both education and employment,” said Ann J. Robison, PhD, executive director of the Montrose Center. “This funding will allow us to provide short-term financial assistance to LGBTQ+ youth experiencing homelessness, diverting them from non-LGBTQ-affirming shelters, while also connecting them to critically needed education and employment resources, all in a safe, affirming, and culturally competent environment.”

“We are pleased to serve as a partner agency for The Way Home’s Youth Housing Demonstration Program (YHDP) grant,” said Dr. Tywanna L. Chisley, board president of TLC Health & Wellness. “This program will provide greatly needed services to vulnerable youth and young adults experiencing homelessness. Provisions for housing and various wrap-around supports will create newfound hope and unlimited opportunities for future success. The YHDP program can potentially transform lives with long-lasting generational impacts.”