Austin, Cleveland and Los Angeles will set ambitious goals to end homelessness among young people in their community.
A Way Home America (AWHA) today announced that Austin, Cleveland and Los Angeles will launch 100-day challenges to accelerate efforts to end youth homelessness in their communities. Selected through a competitive application process, each community will receive support from The Rapid Results Institute (RRI) to drive toward this ambitious goal over 100 days starting September 7.
RRI’s past challenges around veteran homelessness have shown that the limited timeframe provides the urgency needed to identify, innovate and fuel effective approaches for communities. The challenges announced today are part of the national movement to end youth homelessness, represented by A Way Home America. The Rapid Results Institute will provide coaching and support to the communities, with the support of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families,Casey Family Programs, Melville Charitable Trust and Raikes Foundation.
Rafael López, Commissioner of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said “The Department of Health and Human Services is thrilled to support these unique 100-day challenges because we have no time to waste in generating solutions. The federal government is committed to ending youth and family homelessness by 2020. We need to support and accelerate community generated ideas to deliver better results. Together with the cities of Austin, Cleveland, and Los Angeles, we are confident that the 100-day challenge will create urgency for action and serve as a catalyst to more safely house and stabilize thousands of our nation’s homeless youth.”
“We are fully committed to A Way Home America’s goal of ending youth homelessness by 2020,” said Janice Elliott, Executive Director of the Melville Charitable Trust. “To achieve this ambitious goal, we know we need big, bold, and creative ideas. That’s why we’re so excited to support and learn from these 100-Day Challenges in Austin, Cleveland, and Los Angeles.”
“Thousands of young people across our country will spend tonight alone without a safe place to sleep. A crisis of this magnitude requires a level of urgency to match, which is why The Rapid Results Institute’s 100-day challenge approach is such a perfect fit,” said Katie Hong, youth homelessness strategy director at the Raikes Foundation. “These communities will be at the leading edge of innovation that others across the country can learn from as we help this often hidden homelessness population.”
Organizations and communities interested in following the lessons learned by the three communities on their Youth Homelessness 100-Day Challenge should sign up to receive news from AWHA at www.awayhomeamerica.org. Frequently asked questions and answers an be found here.
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