Photo Courtesy of Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office
State Sen. Joe Addabbo, Jr. said he has “high hopes” for Mayor Adams’ Plan to Prevent and End Youth Homelessness.
By Forum Staff
Mayor Eric Adams recently announced the release of “Opportunity Starts with a Home: New York City’s Plan to Prevent and End Youth Homelessness.”
Powered by a $15 million Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the plan details city, federally, and privately funded initiatives to serve youth experiencing homelessness comprehensively and compassionately. Developed in partnership with nonprofit partners and youth with lived experience, the plan also includes policy proposals to cut through City bureaucracy and better serve youth experiencing homelessness.
In September 2021, the City of New York was awarded its first-ever, $15 million YHDP grant from HUD to support a wide range of new housing and service interventions to address youth homelessness. The city undertook an intensive multi-sector community planning process with shared ownership of decision-making and program design. The result of the work outlined a plan for how to invest the grant, implement policy changes, and spearhead new city initiatives towards preventing and ending youth homelessness.
The program was drafted during an eight-month planning process that included 20 organizations, including 15 city agencies, youth with lived experience, community-based organizations, advocacy groups, and philanthropic and research partners. Central to this planning process was the leadership of youth with lived experience through New York City’s Youth Action Board (YAB), which helped ensure that the plan was written in collaboration with young people who have lived experience with homelessness. Throughout the process, the YAB members served as key collaborators in developing a plan that is intersectional in its approach to meet the needs of youth experiencing homelessness.
The resulting plan contains more than 60 individual actions that will collectively move the city toward preventing and ending youth homelessness, including an investment of $11.1 million over the next year to pursue innovative and large-scale projects funded by the city, the NYC Fund to End Youth and Family Homelessness, and HUD. Initiatives include:
- The City’s first-ever Host Home and Shelter Diversion Program, primarily serving the LGBTQ+ ballroom community of New York City;
- 102 new units of rapid rehousing for youth and young adults;
- New street outreach programming developed specifically for youth;
- The city’s first-ever financial counseling program tailored to youth experiencing homelessness – developed by DCWP and DYCD;
- Creation of over 20 jobs for youth with lived experience in both city- and HUD-funded programs;
- Creation of the first Housing and Peer Navigator Training Institute; and
- Development of YourPeer, a mobile platform to connect youth to services.
The plan’s steering committee will oversee implementation and evaluation of the new initiatives and commitments. Newly funded programs will begin by the end of the calendar year.
“The new programs that are coming to New York City through this funding will help our young people avoid the unfortunate experience of homelessness and work to prevent youth from falling into homelessness in the first place,” said State Sen. Joe Addabbo, Jr. (D-Howard Beach). “Many times, when a young person is facing homelessness, all they need is a helping hand to set them on the right track, and these programs will work towards identifying the specific needs of homeless youth. I have high hopes that this set of programs and initiatives will positively impact New York’s homeless population.”
