In order to fund homes for homeless youth in 14 communities—five of which are rural—the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced the availability of $72 million in grants. This money will support a range of housing solutions, including transitional housing, permanent supportive housing, quick rehousing, and host homes, through HUD’s Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP).
Since the beginning, the Biden-Harris Administration has prioritized new programs and resources to assist localities in promptly connecting homeless individuals to homes, addressing the country’s homelessness epidemic with the urgency it demands.
“Young people across our country deserve a stable home and a supportive community,” said HUD Agency Head Adrianne Todman. “We are leading the charge in partnering with communities, our federal partners, and youth who have experienced homelessness to increase the housing supply for those among the most vulnerable in our communities and make significant strides in the fight to prevent and end youth homelessness.”
Assisting Homeless Youth in Their Journey to Permanent Housing
HUD funds will be utilized by communities to develop tailored opportunities to assist homeless adolescents. In an attempt to find and keep stable housing, this includes wrap-around services to enhance general health and wellness and rental help for inexpensive housing units.
A coordinated community plan to prevent and end youth homelessness will be developed and implemented in a few chosen locations with the help of funding released today. In order to ensure that their lived experience inspired the kinds of suggested projects that would maximize benefit for kids at risk or experiencing homelessness, over a dozen young people collaborated with HUD to evaluate the applications submitted for grant consideration. Youth Action Boards are established in every YHDP community, where young people with lived experience serve as the leaders of the community’s efforts to create, carry out, and enhance policies and programs aimed at eradicating youth homelessness.
Awardees are uniquely positioned to design solutions that match the needs of their respective communities, with special attention on creating equitable strategies to assist vulnerable homeless youths, including BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and differently abled persons.
“I’m proud to share that this is the eighth round of YHDP funding to be awarded,” said Marion McFadden, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development. “Including these awards, to date, HUD has awarded YHDP funding to 124 communities, representing a $512 million investment to prevent and end youth homelessness and pave the way to ensure that everyone has access to safe, stable housing.”
HUD announced funding awards to the following communities:
| State | Recipient | Rural | CoC Number | Award Amount |
| California | Humboldt, County of, DBA-Dept. of Health and Human Services | Yes | CA-522 | $1,125,890 |
| California | Bakersfield Kern Regional Homeless Collaborative | No | CA-604 | $5,262,400 |
| California | Regional Task Force on the Homeless | No | CA-601 | $9,754,764 |
| Iowa | Institute for Community Alliances | Yes | IA-501 | $6,735,463 |
| Idaho | Boise City | Yes | ID-500 | $3,288,718 |
| Idaho | Idaho Housing and Finance Association | Yes | ID-501 | $3,815,487 |
| Illinois | All Chicago Making Homelessness History | No | IL-510 | $15,000,000 |
| Michigan | County of Washtenaw | No | MI-509 | $4,364,398 |
| Minnesota | Lakes & Prairies Community Action Partnership, Inc. | Yes | MN-508 | $1,248,058 |
| Nebraska | Metro Area Continuum of Care for the Homeless, dba Threshold | No | NE-501 | $2,853,337 |
| Nevada | Clark County | No | NV-500 | $8,548,153 |
| New York | United Way of Central New York | No | NY-505 | $2,635,438 |
| South Carolina | One-Eighty Place | No | SC-500 | $3,853,222 |
| Washington | Pierce County | No | WA-503 | $3,514,672 |
| Total | $72,000,000 | |||
The YHDP awards expand on HUD’s earlier efforts to assist young Americans experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness after they leave foster care. Foster Youth to Independence (FYI) and other non-competitive funds received $15.4 million from HUD this September to assist prevent homelessness among eligible youth and young adults.
The Department also earlier this year announced $51 million in funding for Youth Homelessness System Improvement (YHSI) grants to help localities create and execute a new youth homelessness response system or enhance an existing youth homelessness response system. HUD also announced that it made $3.6 billion available for groups to apply for in order to offer housing programs and social services to individuals who are homeless.
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