Session includes a panel discussion to highlight cross-agency collaborative efforts and innovative approaches for removing barriers to housing and increasing accessibility to services for some of San Diego’s most vulnerable residents experiencing homelessness, our youth.

• YMCA will provide an overview of the Housing Our Youth (HOY) program where youth service providers in San Diego collaborate to remove barriers to housing for youth at risk of or experiencing homelessness.

• The Center will highlight its comprehensive efforts to prevent LGBTQ+ youth from entering the cycle of homelessness. By addressing the root causes of instability and fostering long-term support networks, The Center aims to interrupt the trajectory from temporary housing insecurity to chronic homelessness.

• County’s Housing and Community Development Services, Office of Homeless Solutions (HCDS-OHS) will summarize how collaborative efforts through several HCDS-OHS programs provide housing interventions for unstably housed youth with the goal of ending the intergenerational cycle of homelessness.

The panel highlights collaborative work being done by HCDS-OHS and community partners to increase access to housing and supportive services for youth who are at risk of or experiencing homelessness. Many factors increase a young person's odds of experiencing homelessness including being Latino or Black, parenting and unmarried, or LGBTQ+. HOY has offered coordinated care, wrap-around support, and housing to over 300 youth, and The Center has provided access to housing, wraparound case management, family reunification support, and connections to mental health services, education, and employment resources to 750 youth. The panel discussion will conclude with a Q&A session.

Learning Objectives

1. Learn how local youth service providers are working together and thinking outside of the box to develop creative solutions to address barriers to housing for the unstably housed youth.

2. Gain an understanding of how other services providers and communities can access these resources through a Q&A session with panelists.

3. Identify opportunities to collaborate with others and/or implement creative strategies to prevent youth and young adults becoming chronically homeless.