September 12-14, Foundations for Youth Success (FYS) members gathered in Seattle for the final in-person convening. Seattle has been leading the country with their work to end youth homelessness. They also happen to be home to FYS colleagues from the Raikes Foundation, Campion Foundation, Building Changes, and the Paul G. Allen Foundation.
During our visit we had the opportunity to hear from some great regional and statewide leaders as well as rockstar service providers.
Monday, September 12, 2016
We opened the meeting with updates from the group and asked attendees to share updates on their work as well as what they have learned, done, or changed during their participation in FYS.
Response summaries can be found in the notes located at the bottom of the page.
Student Homelessness Discussion
After our initial sharing we were joined by Brandy Sincyr from Columbia Legal Services and Katara Jordan from Building Changes. These two speakers lead an interesting discussion on student homelessness in Washington and advocacy efforts that have been essential to their work.
Systemic and Regional Work to Prevent and End YYA Homelessness
For our next discussion, FYS colleague, Katie Hong, joined Carrie Hennen from All Home to discuss the vision for King County as well as challenges and work to date. In King County there are about 800 young people experiencing homelessness on any given night. All Home works with partners including juvenile justice, child welare, and adult shelters to make sure these experiences are rare, brief, and one-time.
This session's notes include the role funders have played in this work as well as specific strategies moving forward.
Carrie Hennen, All Home, [email protected] PowerPoint Slides
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
Our second day we met at the 2100 Building. This building hosts multiple organizations including two of our visiting groups, Accelerator YMCA and the Mockingbird Society.
Accelerator YMCA
We started our second morning off with a tour of the Accelerator YMCA. Brooke Knight, Executive Director, joined us for the tour and explained that the YMCA has a social service focus. They focus on helping young people stay safe and transition to adulthood by preventing harm and supporting success. One way they do this is by serving as the largest housing provider in King County. To learn more, Gabe Manriquez, Permanent Housing Director, joined our deeper dive on regional King County work to talk about their housing work for youth.
Deeper Dive Conversation on Regional King County Work
For this session we were joined by leaders in King County to learn about coordinated access to housing, rapid re-housing, and a recent study that looked at an assessment of different RRH options for homeless youth and young adults. This study is currently helping to inform public funders and their efforts to expand RRH for homeless YYAs.
Read the notes to learn more about the importance of coordinated entry and the evolution of the system in King County, results of the RRH study, and a successful provider model.
Carrie Hennen, All Home, [email protected] PowerPoint Slides
Margaret Woley, MEM Consultants, [email protected] PowerPoint Slides
Gabe Manriquez, Permanent Housing Director, YMCA, [email protected]
Discussion of Efforts to Prevent and End YYA Homelessness in WA State
After learning about local efforts in King County, we took some time to hear about state-wide efforts. Courtney Noble joined to discuss her research on what we know about youth homelessness, current system gaps, present opportunities, and current public funding. Kim Justice talked about the Office of Homeless Youth at the state level that coordinates and oversees funding and policy for youth homelessness. Through this office they are better able to look beyond housing to other critical needs. Lastly, FYS colleague, Sheila Babb Anderson, shared with the group a new initiative, A Way Home Washington. This initiative will focus on increasing awareness, improving advocacy, and improving local, community-based responses.
To learn more about each of these presentations, read the notes included below and check out the PowerPoint links.
Kim Justice, Director for Office of Homeless Youth, [email protected]
Sheila Babb Anderson, Campion Foundation, [email protected]
Courtney Noble, Consultant PowerPoint Slides
Mockingbird Youth Advocates to End Homelessness
The conclusion of our second day was an inspiring visit from the Mockingbird Youth Advocates. These advocates are one of the leading examples of youth voice in the country. The youth-driven, adult-supported model allows youth to identify what is important and advocate for change.
Resources:
Mockingbird Youth Programs Continuum of Youth Participation
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
The third and final day of our convening, thanks to our newest FYS member, Paul Butler, we gathered at the Seattle Seahawks stadium and spent time thinking about where we've been and where we're going. If you haven't already, I encourage you to read the Future of FYS one-pager that summarizes our plans for continuing this group beyond this 2-year community of practice.
Part of this discussion was summarizing what we've learned and what we want to share with the field. Breaking up into small groups we focused on 5 key questions. Those questions and some of the highlights from the discussion are included below. They are also summarized in a recent blog post on Funders Together's main website.
1. Why should funders do advocacy and how can they be effective at the national, state, and local levels?
Highlights: You CAN do it! Advocacy is critical as we work to create systems that will end youth homelessness. You don’t have to be an expert to make an impact.
Key Resource: A Way Home American Transition Plan
2. What is the funder's role in ending youth homelessness?
Highlights: Philanthropy is only part of the puzzle. However, funders have a unique and key role. Funders role includes asking questions, convening, make strategic investments (ex. leveraging government dollars), and building communications and awareness.
Key Resource: A Place to Call Home: Our Strategy for Solving Youth Homelessness, Raikes Foundation
3. What do funders need to know?
Highlights: Don’t act alone! Ask questions and get multiple perspectives. Learn what other funders are doing and understand the systems approach that is key to ending homelessness for youth and youth adults.
Key Resource: Lessons From Five Years of Systems-Focused Grantmaking in King County, Washington- Raikes Foundation
4. Why should this be a funding priority?
Highlights: Ending youth homelessness is prevention of adult homelessness and plays a key role in other areas including health and education.
Key Resource: The Economic Burden of Youth Experiencing Homelessness and the Financial Case for Investing in Interventions to Change Peoples’ Lives
5. What is our vision for a community that is ending youth homelessness?
Highlights: A community that will end youth homelessness must work as a system. Best practices are available and should be referenced and shared. Funders can help by identifying gaps and opportunities to catalyze current efforts.
Key Resource: USICH Framework to Youth Homelessness
These questions will be developed into more detailed resources in the coming months. We will also be investigating and developing other materials from this community. If you are interested in assisting with this process, please contact Jennifer at [email protected].
During the final conversation, we spent a few minutes coming up with a statement we can share with colleagues when talking about this experience. That statement is below.
Full notes including discussion and intro summarizes are available here.
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