About A Way Home Washington
A Way Home Washington is a statewide movement to prevent and end youth and young adult homelessness, with a focus on prioritizing young people of color and LGBTQ+ young people who experience homelessness at higher rates than their white, straight, cisgender peers.
We provide strategic statewide support and intensive support in communities participating in our flagship program, the Anchor Communities Initiative, to inform, grow, and sustain change efforts.
Working together with Washington’s Office of Homeless Youth, we are building a system that is data-informed, performance-based, equity-driven and holds young people and families at the center.
WE BELIEVE
- It is possible and imperative that we prevent and end homelessness for all youth and young adults in Washington.
- It is important to prioritize our efforts for young people who experience homelessness at disproportionately high rates – Black, Indigenous, and other youth of color and young people who identify as LGBTQ+.
- When a young person or a family says “Yes, I need support,” local communities and the system should be well prepared to say, “Yes, come inside for safe housing and a path forward.”
- All parts of a community can come together and work across systems and silos to collectively and continuously prevent and end homelessness for young people.
- It is our responsibility to ensure that young people are able to fully realize their economic, social, civil and political rights, with freedom from discrimination and a right to equality.
The A Way Home Washington Story
A Way Home Washington was started thanks to the generosity and ingenuity of Washington state philanthropists like Sonya Campion and Tricia Raikes who listened to advocates and saw the need for a statewide campaign to improve our systems and better serve young people without a safe and stable place to call home. The Campion Foundation and Raikes Foundation remain supporters of AWHWA and have been joined over the years by the Ballmer Group, Satterberg Foundation, Schultz Family Foundation, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
A Way Home Washington also maintains a close partnership with the Washington State Department of Commerce, Office of Homeless Youth. We are also fortunate to have a leader and champion in the First Lady of Washington, Trudi Inslee, who serves as our co-chair. Mrs. Inslee leads in uniting passionate stakeholders across the state to build systems that respond to the unique needs of all young people.