The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) has posted new guidance to assist communities working to prevent and end youth homelessness. The guide, Preventing and Ending Youth Homelessness: A Coordinated Community Response, provides an overview of the steps needed to respond to the needs of unaccompanied youth and young adults under the age of 25.

The brief discusses the systems that are being developed to collect better data on youth experiencing homelessness and highlights the nationwide progress to provide youth experiencing homelessness or housing instability with the services and support they need to have a positive outcome in life.

Furthermore, the brief outlines collaborative activities that local, state and federal agencies and organizations can implement to respond to the needs of youth experiencing homelessness. These include:

• Establish early intervention and prevention mechanisms to quickly exit youth from homelessness and connect them to mainstream services.
• Develop coordinated entry and assessment tool to identify and refer youth to appropriate support services.
• Ensure access to safe shelter, emergency services, and individualized services for youth experiencing homelessness.

Click here to the read the brief.