Santa Cruz County receives grant to address youth homelessness
UPDATE 06/19/18 4:30PM A $2.2 million grant could fund seven projects geared towards helping homeless children and young adults in Santa Cruz County.
According to the 2017 Point-In-Time Count, there are 588 homeless minors and young adults ages 18-24 in Santa Cruz County. Eighty-seven percent of the homeless youth lived in Santa Cruz County when they became homeless but are unable to find a place to live in the county’s housing market.
“The approval of these projects represents a significant milestone for addressing the significantly unmet needs of homeless youth in our community. With implementation beginning in October, we will be able provide our youth with critically-needed services and housing programs. The YHDP was designed by HUD with youth voice at its core, and I’m humbled by the dedication and hard work by the young adults on the Youth Advisory Board,” Santa Cruz County Homeless Services Coordinator Rayne Marr said.
Santa Cruz County is just one of ten counties in the nation to receive this two year grant.
One member of the Youth Advisory Board, George Andrew Titsworth the fifth says this is going to help youth tremendously.
He first experience homelessness at the age of 13 and says he struggled to get connected to resources, “it was just stressful. Especially as a child you don’t know the resources available to you. And this seems common to me, you don’t want to rat out your parent either if you’re in an abusive relationship or unhealthy relationship.”
Now Titsworth has a home, a job and is going to school. He says he think these new programs will help get youth the help they need to get plugged in to services.
Marr says some of the projects include, “a drop in center where they can receive services, get connected to housing programs, employment and training services, vocational training, assistance with education, getting back enrolled in college, that kind of thing.”
The county will be putting a big focus on getting youth into homes. “We also are going to be doing something very innovative called a host home program where young people will be matched with a family with an availble room in their house,” says Marr.
They plan to start rolling out these programs when they get the money in October.
The goal the county has set is to end youth homelessness by 2020.
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A $2.2 million grant could fund seven projects geared towards helping homeless children and young adults in Santa Cruz County.
According to the 2017 Point-In-Time Count, there are 588 homeless minors and young adults ages 18-24 in Santa Cruz County. Eighty-seven percent of the homeless youth lived in Santa Cruz County when they became homeless but are unable to find a place to live in the county’s housing market.
“The approval of these projects represents a significant milestone for addressing the significantly unmet needs of homeless youth in our community. With implementation beginning in October, we will be able provide our youth with critically-needed services and housing programs. The YHDP was designed by HUD with youth voice at its core, and I’m humbled by the dedication and hard work by the young adults on the Youth Advisory Board,” Santa Cruz County Homeless Services Coordinator Rayne Marr said.
Some of the projects include, a drop-in center, and a housing program for young adults with families.
KION’s Ashley Keehn will have the details at 5 and 6 p.m.
