Louisville is one of five U.S. cities to set ambitious goals to end homelessness among young people in their community
Louisville, KY (August 1, 2017) – The Coalition for the Homeless and a team of local providers, community leaders and government members today launched the 100-Day Challenge, a project designed to stimulate intense collaboration, innovation, and execution, all in pursuit of an ambitious 100-day goal to end homelessness for a large number of young people in our community. In 2016, there were 443 homeless young adults (age 18-24) in Louisville, plus an additional 450 youth below age 18 served by YMCA Safe Place Services of Louisville, for a total of 893 unduplicated unaccompanied homeless youth. The 100-Day Challenge team’s goal is to house at least 100 of these identified homeless young adults by November 8, 2017.
The compressed timeframe, high visibility, and support from coaches, peers, and federal leaders creates the possibility for rapid progress and radical change. But, everyone from community leaders to front-line workers are inspired to do their work differently, question assumptions about the systems they operate in, and innovate to reach the goal.
Ways for members of the community to get involved and help our city reach this goal include donating to Rx: Housing to fund deposits and furniture, hiring or mentoring a homeless or disconnected young person, and advocating for more funding for the Louisville Affordable Housing Trust Fund. In addition, landlords can rent housing to a homeless person with a voucher and supportive services (contact John Miles at Metro Louisville at john.miles@louisvilleky.gov).
100-Day Challenges are part of a growing national movement to prevent and end youth homelessness in America. In Austin, Cleveland, and Los Angeles, 413 young people exited homelessness and were housed in just 100 days-exceeding the original goals they had set at the start of their journey.
Building on the success of those three cities who made remarkable progress last Fall, A Way Home America (AWHA) recently announced that Louisville was selected as one of the next five cities (others are Baltimore, MD, Columbus, OH, Hennepin County, MN, and Palm Beach County, FL) to participate in the 100-Day Challenge.
The Coalition for the Homeless in Louisville began working to understand youth homelessness back in 2013, when two studies focused on the needs of youth were conducted, and a committee called the Coalition Supporting Young Adults (CSYA), now a separate partner organization, was formed. In addition to CSYA, a Youth Advisory Board, an Education/Employment Collaborative, and a Homeless Youth Committee consisting of 41 community leaders have also all been formed. In January of 2017, the Coalition for the Homeless and a committee of nearly 50 local providers, community leaders and government members launched an initiative to end homelessness among unaccompanied young adults by the end of 2020, if not sooner. The extensive plan focuses on intervention by providing housing and life-changing services, which are intended to lead to health benefits and self-sufficiency.
The 100-Day Challenge work is made possible through funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and private donor contributions. Rapid Results Institute (RRI) is providing overall design of the 100-Day Challenges and is partnering with HomeBase to offer coaching support to each community as they embark on their 100-Day Journey. Representatives from the National Youth Forum on Homelessness will be consulting with them throughout the 100 days. The National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) is proud to have been part of the initiative to use the Rapid Results Institute’s (RRI) 100-Day Challenge approach to jumpstart an end to youth homelessness
Individuals, organizations, and communities interested in following the 100-Day Challenge progress can sign up to receive news from AWHA at www.awayhomeamerica.org. Those interested can also follow the challenges using #100DayChallengeAccepted and #endyouthhomelessness on Twitter.
About the Coalition for the Homeless
The Coalition for the Homeless, located at 1300 S. 4th Street, Suite 250, is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with a mission to prevent and eliminate homelessness in Louisville. The Coalition has a three-pronged approach to this mission: advocacy, education, and coordination of their 30+ member agencies who provide a variety of services to the homeless throughout the city. For more information, visit www.louhomeless.org, call (502) 636-9550, or find The Coalition for the Homeless on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LouHomeless or on Twitter @louhomeless.
About A Way Home America
AWHA is a national initiative to build the movement to prevent and end homelessness among young people. AWHA is made up of local and state public sector organizations, advocates, researchers, young people, homeless youth providers and philanthropists united behind the goal of ending youth homelessness by the end of 2020. www.awayhomeamerica.org
About The Rapid Results Institute
RRI is a non-profit organization that creates transformative and sustained impact on tough societal challenges. RRI uses its 100-Day Challenges to support front-line teams to shape and deliver seemingly impossible goals, and it helps leaders leverage these initial 100-day goals into sustained, long term, impact. www.rapidresults.org
About HomeBase
HomeBase is a nonprofit public interest law firm dedicated to the social problem of homelessness. The mission is to end homelessness, prevent its recurrence, and decrease its effect on communities. HomeBase works on the state and national level to support communities in implementing responses to homelessness while fostering collaboration in addressing the political and economic causes of homelessness. www.homebaseccc.o
