In January 2017, the Connecticut Balance of State was awarded $6.5 million in federal funds under the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) to address the needs of youth experiencing homelessness in Connecticut. Over the past year, stakeholders of the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Management Team, spearheaded by the Connecticut Department Housing, and the Reaching Home Youth and Young Adult Homelessness Workgroup have worked collaboratively through an extensive planning process to design a Coordinated Community Plan, to develop a competitive process for distributing the YHDP project funding, and to execute other YHDP requirements.

On Friday, November 16, 2018, Governor Dannel P. Malloy and Department of Housing Commissioner Evonne Klein announced the grant awardees that will be providing housing assistance to serve youth and young adults experiencing homelessness.

“From the historic investments we’ve made in our housing infrastructure, to the homelessness response systems we built from the ground up, Connecticut is a recognized national leader in this effort,” Governor Malloy said. “Connecticut has proven that what was once thought to be an insurmountable goal – ending homelessness – can be accomplished.”

According to Commissioner Klein, “building off these systems, and with the help of both our partners in the federal government and our nonprofit community, we will be able to end youth homelessness in 2020… I’m confident the momentum that began under the Malloy administration will continue to flourish in the years ahead.”

The program and grant awardees are as follows:

• $580,000 in Shelter Diversion/Rapid Exit Fund to provide one-time financial assistance to youth and young adults to help them avoid entering the homeless system or with rapidly exiting them from crisis housing. The Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness was awarded this funding to support the Coordinated Access Networks (CANs) in this effort.
• $1,000,000 in Youth Navigator Programs to conduct youth-specific CAN intake appointments, guide youth through the homeless response system, and assist with connecting youth to resources as well as identify and secure safe, viable housing.
  • The grantees for the Youth Navigator Programs are:
    • Journey Home, Greater Hartford and Central CANs
    • Noank Community Support Services, Southeast CAN
    • Youth Continuum, Greater New Haven CAN
    • Columbus House, Meriden, Middlesex, Wallingford CAN
    • Mental Health Connecticut, Waterbury/Litchfield CAN
    • ACCESS Agency, Northeast CAN
• $650,000 in Crisis Housing Programs to provide safe, short-term housing with case management to assist with meeting participants’ basic needs, resolving their housing crisis and connecting them to ongoing community resources.
  • The number of beds and awardees include:
    • 4 beds- Salvation Army Marshall House, Hartford
    • 12 beds- Youth Continuum, New Haven
    • 9 beds- Noank Community Support Services, Groton
    • 4 beds- Columbus House, Middletown
• $4,084,041 in Rapid Rehousing Programs to serve about 114 young adults at a point-in-time, who are literally homeless or fleeing from domestic violence.
  • The recipients include:
    • The Connection, Inc., Greater Hartford CAN
    • Youth Continuum, Greater New Haven CAN
    • Community Health Resources, Inc., Central CAN
    • Thames River Community Services, Southeast CAN
    • The ACCESS Agency, Northeast CAN
    • Columbus House, Meriden, Middlesex, Wallingford CAN
    • The Salvation Army Waterbury Corps, Waterbury/Litchfield CAN

The rest of the funding is being allocated toward various planning projects that support program implementation, youth collaboration, and system improvements as well as enhanced data collection and analysis.

“We are thrilled to see the YHDP funding distributed across a large portion of the state and know it will play a critical role in reaching our goal of ending homelessness among youth and young adults by the end of 2020 by providing stable, secure housing for young people in Connecticut,” Alicia Woodsby, Executive Director of the Partnership for Strong Communities, the statewide nonprofit that staffs and manages the Reaching Home Campaign, said. “This award is the result of so much hard work and preparation by partners and stakeholders across the state, including young people who have direct experience with homelessness.”

Click here to read the full press release from the Governor’s office.

Click here for more information on the statewide effort to prevent and end youth homelessness.