January 2024 Meeting

Alice Colegrove

Ayala Livny

Director, Homeless Youth Services

Chair, UHYC on behalf of Secretary Walsh

Senior Consultant

Homeless Youth Services & UHYC

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Welcome !

Please introduce yourself in the chat with your name, pronouns, org/role

+one thing you are looking forward to in 2024

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November 2023 Meeting

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Agenda

• The A-list: agreements, acronyms, announcements
• Follow up from last meeting: Review of Goal and Purpose
• Research to Action: subpopulations and help-seeking
• Working groups
• Youth Count 2024

Agreements

• Assume good intentions
• Use respectful language
• Ask for and use people’s pronouns
• Engage in differences of opinion with courtesy and respect
• Welcome all participants into the conversation, especially young adults
• Understand that a commitment to inclusion may mean that the norms of “professional meetings” may need to be altered

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Jan 2024 Meeting

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Acronyms

• UHYC= Unaccompanied Homeless Youth Commission
• YYA= Youth and Young Adult
• EOHHS= Executive Office of Health & Human Services
• UHY= Unaccompanied Homeless Youth
• HUD = US Department of Housing and Urban Development
• YHSI= HUD Youth Homelessness System Improvement Grant
• COC: Continuum of Care
• EOHLC/ HCL - Exec Office of Housing and Livable Communities

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Jan 2024 Meeting

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Announcements

• HUD Youth Homelessness Systems Improvement Grant
• 211 project: training call-center operators
• other

April is YOUTH COUNT month

(April 1 - 30th)

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Jan 2024 Meeting

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GOAL

To make experiences of youth homelessness in Massachusetts

rare

brief

& non-recurring

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UHYC January 2024 Meeting

The purpose

of the MA Unaccompanied Homeless Youth

Commission is to “study and

make recommendations for services

for unaccompanied youth and young adults experiencing homelessness in Massachusetts, to ultimately

provide comprehensive & effective responses to the unique needs of this population.”

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Follow up from Last Meeting:

Q: What do Commissioners need

in order to effectively support

the UHYC?

UHYC Commissioners & Supporters asked for:

• Clear goals, strategy, and opportunities for involvement
• Clear & timely communication
• Data, data, and more data
• Authentic Engagement from Young Adults

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Research to Impact

Youth Count 2022

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Jan 2024 Meeting

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Youth Count 2022 findings:

UHY populations with increased vulnerabilities

• Minors

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• YYA with No diploma & not in school

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• Unsheltered

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Jan 2024 Meeting

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Youth Count 2022 findings:

MINORS “...the first thing we are is afraid”

• More than 2x as likely to be unsheltered
• 2.5x less likely to have a high school degree
• More likely to be BIPOC

⅓ of all UHY leave home permanently before age 18

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Jan 2024 Meeting

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Youth Count 2022 findings:

UHY with no diploma and not in school

• More than 1 in 4 of all UHY
• 83% BIPOC
• 41% had foster care involvement
• Least likely to be doubled up
• 2x as likely to be unsheltered
• 41% reported receiving none of the help they needed with shelter

36%

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Jan 2024 Meeting

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Youth Count 2022 findings:

Unsheltered: 104/634 UHY

34%

Barriers =

• Transportation
• “I don’t know where to go”
• Wait lists
• Fear

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Jan 2024 Meeting

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We must increase the likelihood a young person will ask for help when they need it and that the help they need will be available, appropriate, and accessible to them.

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Dec 2023 UHYC recommendations

• “Promote communication strategies that provide information on how and where unaccompanied minors and young adults can safely reach out for help.”

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• “...work across secretariats to develop and strengthen policies that impact a minor’s ability to access services, support interagency practices on behalf of homeless, unaccompanied and transition age youth…”

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Make experiences of youth homelessness in MA rare, brief & non-recurring

In Breakout rooms discuss:

• How can we ensure young people are accessing the services they are eligible for?
• What at the systems-level impacts minors and young adults’ ability to access housing and support services in a timely manner? Policies? Definitions? Eligibility criteria? Data?
• Share interagency initiatives you know of that are aiding in identifying and connecting youth to housing and support quickly. (highlight the good)

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Working Groups: Alice to send out sign up form

• Minors, revisiting founding legislation
• (ii) an analysis of the barriers to serving unaccompanied youth under 18 years of age; (iii) an assessment of the impact of mandated reporting requirements on unaccompanied homeless youths’ access to services; (iv) the commonwealth’s ability to identify and connect with unaccompanied homeless youth; and (v) recommendations to reduce identified barriers to serving this population

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Working Groups: Alice to send out sign up form

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• Serving Young Adults who are being trafficked or exchanging sex
• See Sept 2022 report: ESN findings and recommendations

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Save the Date(s): 2024 meetings

Save the Date(s): 2024 meetings

• April 23, 2024
• June 18, 2024

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Evaluation & Next Steps

THANK YOU!

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