Where Will They Be Next November?

A look back at Youth Homelessness Awareness Month and the Year Ahead for District Youth

In the summer of 2007, the United States Congress officially declared November as National Homeless Youth Awareness Month. It’s noteworthy that a 16-year-old youth that year who was experiencing homelessness would now be a 24-year-old, either fully independent, on the precipice of transitioning to self sufficiency, or sadly having fallen through the cracks will be moving into an adult serving system. 9 years after the institution of National Homeless Youth Awareness Month, that is unconscionable.  Here at DCAYA, this reinforces the urgency to act and ensure we are cutting off the pipeline into housing instability and homelessness. That said, it also allows us to acknowledge the progress our community has made.

What’s Been Done About Youth Homelessness in DC?

In kicking off this awareness month three years ago on this blog, we noted that the need for more action around youth homelessness in the DC was very real. The “invisibility” of homeless youth – mostly young people “couch surfing” from place to place – meant that there was little public awareness or political will to be found for doing right by them. In the meantime, the District’s overall capacity for serving homeless youth was at only 216 beds, with providers reporting high turn-away rates and double-digit waitlists.

Recognizing this, the DC Alliance of Youth Advocates worked diligently with providers and partner advocates to develop and release A Bold Strategy to End Youth Homelessness in the District of Columbia in October 2013. This strategy called the Mayor,  DC Council and city officials to invest in a long-term, data driven, continuum of services that spanned prevention through intervention and into stable independence. Together, the coalition partners calculated that a $10 million commitment was needed to fund prevention, intervention and evaluation for a full year.

As Support Grows, Services Follow in DC…

Council heard the request, and passed the Ending Youth Homelessness Amendment Act in May 2014, but at a commitment of $1.3 million. The Act mandated and funded a new youth drop-in center, a coordinated intake system among providers (to ensure that there is no “wrong door” for youth seeking support), fifteen new beds for youth in crisis, a street outreach program, and an annual homeless youth census. Since the initial Act was passed, contracts for the mandated services have been awarded to five youth-serving, community-based organizations in the District.

At the same time, the needs of particular populations of homeless youth are being better addressed in DC. In February 2014 the DC Council passed the LGBTQ Homeless Youth Reform Amendment Act by an almost unanimous vote, mandating that the number of beds for homeless LGBTQ youth be more than doubled from eight to 18, and that the count of homeless youth in the District includes an accurate census of LGBTQ youth. It also funded cultural competency training for all shelter providers to ensure that no matter where a youth makes contact with the system, the staff they encounter are sensitive to their unique needs.

…But Where Will They Be Next November?

While this initial investment to the Ending Youth Homelessness Amendment Act was critical, we're still working diligently to understand what else is needed from a data informed perspective.

To this end, the first publicly funded, youth census funded under the Act was completed in August 2015, with data expected to be released this month. Advocates in the meantime are continuing to collect data on homeless youth with the newly established Coordinated Entry System. Through the collected data, advocates, community-based providers, and DC agencies will have a greater understanding on the investments needed to stabilize homeless youth and guide them onto a path of self sufficiency.

While the successes of recent years have led to a more youth-friendly system – one that has become a little better at meeting the demand and connecting youth to appropriate services – it is almost certain the data will tell us that we’ll need to ramp up funding in the years ahead if we are to truly stick to a bold strategy that emphasizes prevention and meaningful interventions to end youth homelessness in the District.

Joey Gavrilovich is a Senior Policy Analyst at the DC Alliance of Youth Advocates. For more information, visit our website and don't hesitate to reach out with any questions.  

To Reduce Family Homelessness, DC Needs to Focus on Young Parents

Photo taken by Tina Dela Rosa of Charmia Carolina and her child.

We end our Youth Homelessness Awareness Month blog series with a guest post from policy analyst Kate Coventry of the DC Fiscal Policy Institute.

According to the Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness, 661 families applied for shelter during the FY2013 Hypothermia Season and the number is predicted to grow to 820 families during FY2015. Of those families experiencing homelessness, nearly half are headed by a parent 24 years or younger.

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An increasing number of DC’s homeless families are young, with a parent 24 years old or younger. These families face unique challenges, because the parents often lack a high school diploma or GED, have limited work experience, and have never had their own home. Addressing the huge increase in family homelessness in DC will require focusing on these families.

No one knows exactly why this is happening, but a clear factor is DC’s uneven economic recovery that has left many residents, including young people, behind. Young workers face a 16 percent unemployment rate, nearly double that of older workers. And wages have fallen since 2008 for residents other than those with a college degree. These worsening job realities and DC’s increasing lack of affordable housing undoubtedly are making it difficult for young families to make ends meet.

Other cities are finding that young parents need tailored services. Like the District, Hennepin County (Minneapolis), helps most families exit shelter with Rapid Re-housing, a program that combines rental assistance and case management for generally up to 12 months. But because they found the program does not work well for youth-headed households, they are piloting a program with more intensive case management, life skills training, and education on how to support their child’s development. Additionally, young families can remain in the program for up to 24 months.

It is likely that young families in the District also need special help. Yet it is not clear what added interventions are needed, because the city has not done much to assess the circumstances of youth-headed homeless families. In April, a coalition of community organizations, including DCAYA and DCFPI, recommended that DC release data on the Rapid Re-housing outcomes for young parents, but this still has not happened.

As the District takes more steps to reduce family homelessness, we recommend the District do more to understand why so many young families are seeking shelter, and then review its assessment tool and case management services to make sure they are sensitive to the special circumstances of young families.

The DC Fiscal Policy Institute conducts research and public education on budget and tax issues in the District of Columbia, with a particular emphasis on issues that affect low- and moderate-income residents. Kate Coventry is a DCFPI policy analyst who focuses particularly on TANF benefits, Interim Disability Assistance (IDA), and homelessness.

For more on youth issues in DC you can FOLLOW us on Twitter, LIKE us on Facebook,SUBSCRIBE to this blog and VISIT us at www.dc-aya.org.

Sex for Shelter

Photo Courtesy of Fair Girls 

The following blog is part of the DCAYA Youth Homelessness Awareness Month blog series. 

People often place homelessness and sex trafficking into two different buckets of vulnerability. In reality, these issues are often one in the same, as homeless children are sexually exploited at an alarmingly high rate. When they do not have a safe place to sleep or trusting adults to turn to, young people are forced to find a way to survive. Many times, the only currency they have to offer are their own bodies. Sometimes adults force or coerce a young person into the sex trade – sometimes their situations do – either way, this form of sexual exploitation is mentally and physically damaging to a minor’s well-being. To add insult to injury, in DC, these minors are arrested and prosecuted for engaging in unlawful sexual behavior; going from one system of control established by a pimp, to another system of control brought on by a police officer.

On November 18, DC Council will vote on a bill to change this practice. The 'Safe Harbor' bill will ensure minors get care, not punishment, when trying to survive on the streets. Below is an excerpt from our one-pager with a FAQs section that addresses common misperceptions about minors and the sex trade.

It is fitting that this bill is being voted on during Youth Homelessness Awareness Month. It is time we stop arresting and prosecuting vulnerable children who need basic necessitates: food, shelter, and a caring adult.

View outline of the legislation.

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“When I was a kid being sex trafficked, I was threatened with arrest, not refered to services. DC law has to change. Kids shouldn’t be arrested for being sex trafficked or survival sex.”

- Kiana
 College Student, Survivor Advocate at FAIR Girls DC 

“Our Safe Harbor law has been a tremendous tool as we combat this horrific crime. With the help of service providers, we focus on the rescue and recovery of young victims caught up in the sex trade.”

 - Anita Alvarez
   State’s Attorney, Cook County, IL

“As a Law Enforcement Officer, it is our sworn duty to    protect the public, and that includes our children who are the most vulnerable.  Safe Harbor laws acknowledge that children, who are not adults, do not have the maturity to give consent to be trafficked.  Safe Harbor laws help us put the real perpetrators in jail.”

- Retired Officer Dan Goldsmith, California State Investigator

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: What is child sex trafficking and survival sex?

A: The federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) defines a sex trafficking victim as any child under 18 who is engaging in commercial sex acts.  Survival sex occurs when a child engages in sexual acts in exchange for food, shelter, or other basic needs, whether or not they have a pimp. Under the TVPA, minors engaging in survival sex should be treated as trafficking victims.

Q: Isn’t arrest & prosecution a good way for victims to get services?

A: No, instead victims need to be able to voluntarily access services through police referrals — police training on how to do this is included in the bill. A jail cell or a courtroom are not the most effective ways to present services to victims of child sex trafficking. Victims need to have the time and space to commit to accepting services in order for the services to be effective.  As Andrea Powell, Executive Director of Fair Girls says, “we’ve never had any victim tell us no to services … if they are asked correctly.”

Q: But don’t we need to arrest these kids and threaten them with prosecution so they give information about their pimps?

A: No, arresting victims of child sex trafficking will only lead them to distrust, be hostile toward, and withhold information from authorities. When a victim has the opportunity to voluntarily choose services, the young person is more cooperative in a police investigation.

DOWNLOAD THE "SAFE HARBOR" ONE-PAGER

Photo Courtesy of Fair Girls 

Before the vote on Tuesday, November 19th 2014, reach out to DC Councilmembers through their social media channels. View sample tweets and councilmember twitter handles for guidance as we work together to pass this significant and groundbreaking legislation to protect victims of child sex trafficking. 

For more on youth issues in DC you can FOLLOW us on Twitter, LIKE us on Facebook,SUBSCRIBE to this blog and VISIT us at www.dc-aya.org.