City Of New York Awarded $15 Million Federal Grant To Address Youth Homelessness

Mayor Bill de Blasio today announced the City of New York has been awarded a $15 million grant as part of the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP).

 This funding, from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), will support a wide range of new housing and service interventions to prevent and end youth homelessness. New York City, through its Continuum of Care, a cross-sector coalition of homeless housing and shelter providers, consumers, advocates, and government, will work with a broad array of partners, including youth themselves, to develop a coordinated community plan to prevent and end youth homelessness.

“New York City’s recovery will be driven by all of us, especially young New Yorkers,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “This $15 million award will help us build on our efforts to prevent and end youth homelessness for good. I’m proud of all of the city leaders and youth partners whose deep collaboration has led to this exciting opportunity.”

“We are thankful to HUD for this $15 million grant, which will help us create new solutions to address youth homelessness that build on our existing investments in youth beds, drop-in centers, pilot programs for cash transfers and more,” said Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Melanie Hartzog.  “I am also thankful for our partner agencies and the youth advocates who consistently collaborate to ending youth homelessness once and for all.”

“The City is excited to receive $15 million in federal funding to turn the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program into real-world solutions. Mayor de Blasio has prioritized this issue, as demonstrated by the Administration’s commitment to supportive housing, youth beds, the Youth Homelessness Taskforce, and specialized services for the LGBTQI community. We thank the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, our community partners, and, most importantly, the young people who will help us develop innovative and effective strategies to reduce youth homelessness,” said Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives J. Phillip Thompson.

The de Blasio administration has made multiple new investments to help youth experiencing homelessness transition off the streets and into permanent housing, including through the creation of hundreds of new youth beds at the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD), an expansion of twenty-four-hour DYCD youth drop-in centers in every borough, an investment in a public-private partnership to pilot a Direct Cash Transfer Project, an allotment of roughly 1,700 permanent supportive housing units through the NYC 15/15 initiative, the creation of the Youth Homelessness Taskforce, the appointment of a Senior Advisor for Youth Homelessness and investment to design a mobile tool to better connect youth with resources and services. This award will build on those commitments. Projects will have a particular focus on, especially vulnerable youth in New York City such as LGBTQ youth and youth of color who experience homelessness at disproportionate rates.  

“DYCD is proud to be the lead agency of this coordinated community planning process to develop a plan aimed at ending youth homelessness in the City. We look forward to engaging with stakeholders across all sectors, particularly the young people whose lived experiences will add a critical voice to the work. DYCD thanks HUD, our agency and community partners, and the young people of the Youth Action Board who will continue to be invaluable members of our team as we move forward,” said DYCD Commissioner Bill Chong.

“Addressing the challenge of homelessness requires an all hands-on deck approach at every level of government, and we are pleased that our federal partners recognize the importance of collaboration in achieving our shared mission of supporting some of our City’s most vulnerable youth,” said DSS Commissioner Steven Banks. “This latest federal grant will advance the City’s ongoing efforts to connect youth experiencing homelessness in New York City to the resources and services they need to get back on their feet, including by funding the development of several new transitional and supportive housing facilities. As we emerge from this unprecedented crisis, we thank our federal partners for this important funding, which will help ensure that youth in our City can access opportunity and safe, stable housing.”

 We are so excited to be selected as a YHDP community by HUD. The YHDP is an incredible opportunity for this Administration and the community working to end youth homelessness, especially given the last eighteen months in our fight against COVID-19. Our provider community and youth with lived experience will share the ownership of our forthcoming Coordinated Community Plan to Prevent and End Youth Homelessness. We will use the groundwork laid by this Administration, the recommendations from the Youth Homelessness Taskforce, and needs assessment conducted by Chapin Hall to inform and implement our plan,” said Senior Advisor for Youth Homelessness Cole Giannone.

“The news that New York City was chosen as a HUD Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) community is a beautiful example of what can happen when government engages in a truly collaborative process with diverse stakeholders, especially youth with the lived experience of homelessness, without whom this award would not have been possible. CHY is honored to engage in this process alongside the youth and is excited to see how this opportunity will enable youth to create the means by which the City addresses and meets their needs,” said Jamie Powlovich, Executive Director, Coalition for Homeless Youth.

“It is important to recognize that New York City receiving the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Project (YHDP) award is based on the tireless effort of youth with the lived experience of homelessness leading this work – on the ground. Alongside our allies, we have successfully fought for this to be a truly collaborative and intentional process. The work of the Youth Action Board (YAB) has ensured that the approved plan captures the voices and experiences of those closest to the crisis of youth homelessness in this city by leveraging our power to create and inform the solutions after years of fighting for a seat at the table,” said Maddox Guerilla, Chair of the NYC Youth Action Board.

“At Sheltering Arms, we have the privilege of being one of New York City’s largest providers of services for homeless youth,” said Elizabeth McCarthy, CEO of Sheltering Arms Children and Family Services. “As a proud member of the New York City Coalition for the Continuum of Care, I am thrilled that we received this award and national recognition for the work that we all do to end youth homelessness. I look forward to the innovation that this funding will make possible as we enhance the efforts and strategies that we and our partner organizations are carrying out in communities across the city.”

 “As a member of the Youth Homelessness Taskforce and YHDP Team, Good Shepherd Services joins in congratulating the City and the members of the Taskforce for their tireless advocacy and commitment to prevent and end youth homelessness in NYC, which has led to the national recognition from HUD and the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP).  The leadership and vision of this team is commendable and we look forward to collaborating with the City on this effort,” said Elizabeth Garcia, Division Director, Good Shepherd Services.