HUD Attends Conference on Runaway and Homeless Youth

The audience listens to presentations on youth homelessness

On November 4th, the Coalition for Homeless Youth held their Annual Statewide Conference "From Here to There: A Statewide Conference on the Expanse and Impact of Youth Homelessness Across the Many Spectrums of New York State". The convening brought together nonprofit service providers as well as local, state, and federal partners addressing youth homelessness to obtain skills and information, discuss resources, define strategies, celebrate successes and give feedback about current issues impacting homeless and runaway youth program development and the policies that impact their work.

Youth homelessness is a pressing issue in New York. The 2015 Point-In-Time count tallied over 2,600 unaccompanied homeless youth statewide, and Department of Education statistics (http://center.serve.org/nche/downloads/data-comp-1112-1314.pdf) suggest that the number of families with school-aged children without adequate housing has skyrocketed in recent years. Against this backdrop, HUD is working with partners including the Coalition, and the National Center for Excellence in Homeless Services (www.albany.edu/excellencehomelessservices/) at the University of Albany School of Social work to improve both theory and practice, and to help federally-funded homeless service providers maximize the impact of their programming.

The conference featured panel discussions on federal policy, public resources, population tracking methodology, harm reduction strategies, trafficking, and how to integrate the needs of homeless youth into existing Continuum of Care Programming. Moderated by Sam Miller of HUD's Regional Office in New York, the panel on public agency resources covered funding for both programmatic expenses and capital construction and repair, mental health issues faced by runaway and homeless youth, HUD's Continuum of Care funding, Emergency Solutions Grants, and Housing Opportunities for People with HIV/AIDs funding, as well as state level resources available from the New York State Office for Children and Family Services and local Departments of Social Services. Panelists included Tara McDonald, New York State Office of Mental Health (https://www.omh.ny.gov/) Bureau of Housing Development and Support; and Rick Umholtz Director for the Center for Specialized Services at the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (https://otda.ny.gov/).

Working collaboratively and connecting partners from across the many spectrums of New York State, HUD and the US Interagency Council on Homelessness are aiming to end youth and family homelessness nationwide by 2020. Learn more about resources for homeless persons in New York State, or about HUD's broader efforts to end homelessness on HUD's website.

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