HHAP Grantee Assessment Tool

Overarching Principles: Our overarching principles are principles that should be implemented in every program, intervention, and strategy designed to prevent, address, and/or end youth homelessness. These principles are evidence-based approaches or frameworks that increase the positive impact and effectiveness of programs and strategies for youth at-risk or experiencing homelessness.

Prevention: In Structural Prevention of Youth Homelessness prevention of youth homelessness is defined as, “policies, practices, and interventions that either... reduce the likelihood that a young person will experience homelessness, or... provide youth experiencing homelessness with the necessary support to stabilize their housing, improve their wellbeing, connect with the community, and avoid re-entry into homelessness” (36). Implementing prevention strategies is a crucial component of a multi-faceted approach to reducing youth homelessness (37). Preventing homelessness among youth can even serve to prevent homelessness among adults, as evidence shows that experiencing homelessness as a youth increases the risk of homelessness later in life (38).

Outreach and Early Intervention: Outreach & Early Intervention is identified by the Homeless Hub as a critical preventive activity. Early intervention is defined as “providing crisis intervention to those who have recently experienced homelessness. Examples include: effective outreach, coordinated intake and assessment, case management, and shelter diversion” (14). The aim of this intervention is to help youth obtain the support needed to rapidly access appropriate housing. It also focuses on meeting the specific health-related needs of youth, as well as material, interpersonal, social, and educational resources (14). 

Beginning Stabilization: In Structural Prevention of Youth Homelessness housing stabilization for youth is defined as a form of tertiary prevention that “involves assisting young people who have already experienced homelessness and housing precarity to exit that situation as quickly as possible, with the necessary supports in place to ensure they do not cycle back into homelessness again” (46). Simply housing young people is not enough for a healthy transition to adulthood. Instead, youth also need to be supported and accompanied to gain the necessary skills, experiences, and psychosocial tools and resources to undertake the transition to independence (46). Beginning housing stabilization fulfills those needs by including strategies related to housing support, health and wellbeing, access to income and education, complementary support, and social inclusion (46).

Housing Models for Youth and Housing Stabilization: Housing models can be categorized into short-term and long-term housing, Housing models should “combine rental or housing assistance with individualized, flexible, and voluntary support services” (48). According to the Homeless Hub, the goal of all housing options under housing first for youth (HF4Y) is to provide housing stability, support youth holistically, and achieve a healthy transition to adulthood (49). Access to services and supports depends on the specific needs and desires of the youth (49). Core principles of the HF4Y approach are youth choice, youth voice, and self-determinations; youth should be able to have a say on the kind of housing they want to receive, where it is located, and what services and supports they want to access (49). The ultimate outcome is independent living (49). Importantly, housing models and support designed for adults but implemented to support youth are not considered HF4Y (49).

Cross-Systems Collaboration and System-Level Strategies: This section refers to cross-system collaboration and system-level strategies that can and should be taken into consideration when planning a youth-responsive homelessness system. Cross system-collaboration and system-level strategies focus on the collective impact and the shared responsibility the different systems (e.g., education system, child welfare system, juvenile justice system, healthcare system) have in addressing and ending youth homelessness. These two strategies are fundamental to ensure that youth are not falling through the cracks of the system(s), especially in rural and/or scarce-resource communities.