The funding will kick off the start of a new "coordinated, multiagency effort" to address youth homelessness in the region, according to a Nov. 1 press release from the Coalition for the Homeless in Houston and Harris County, which allocated the funds and runs The Way Home initiative to reduce homelessness.
Sharpstown-based Houston ReVision will use its funding to provide homelessness diversion resources for youth and young adults, according to the release.
Meanwhile, Covenant House—where a renovation to boost capacity is already underway in Montrose—will provide transitional housing and rapid rehousing for youth and young adults, and The Montrose Center will provide employment supports and homelessness diversion resources. Montrose Grace Place will provide homelessness diversion resources for youth and young adults.
Other nonprofits to receive funding include SEARCH Homeless Services, the Spring Branch Community Health Center, Temenos CDC and TLC Health & Wellness.
“Houston ReVision has been seeing an increase in the number of unstably housed youth in the Houston area," Houston ReVision CEO Charles Rotramel said in a statement. "In collaboration with The Way Home and our partner agencies, we look forward to helping Houston's youth and young adults connect with housing and education so that they can look forward to productive futures.”
The funds were distributed in September by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as a part of its Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program. The Coalition for the Homeless will now lead the eight nonprofits over the course of a two-year “demonstration period” that will involve building capacity to serve homeless youth and reduce homelessness. The funding will be used according to a comprehensive plan drafted in the spring and approved by HUD in April.
“We have a crisis of ‘at-risk’ youth who are on the verge of homelessness, including youth who are about to age out of the foster care system,” said Mike Nichols, president and CEO of the Coalition for the Homeless, in a statement. “Now, we have a plan in place and the right partners at the table to identify and engage youth in services, to expand and coordinate systems tailored to unique youth needs, and to facilitate youth access to services to maintain stability and help to break the cycle of homelessness.”
