Posted on July 12, 2018 in Anchor Community Initiative, Youth Homelessness
By Jim Theofelis Executive Director, A Way Home Washington July is shaping up to be one of the biggest months in A Way Home Washington’s brief history. Our team is coming together, and we are pleased to announce the hiring of Elysa Hovard, Anchor Community project director, and Megan Huckaby, communications manager. Elysa spent the […]
Posted on January 10, 2018 in legislative advocacy, Washington Office of Homeless Youth, Youth Homelessness
January 8th was the start of the 2018 legislative session in Washington. A Way Home Washington (AWHWA) will be a strong leader and an advocate on youth and young adult homelessness in Olympia. We look forward to working with legislators on both sides of the aisle to pass landmark legislation and secure the necessary funding […]
Posted on November 16, 2017 in Uncategorized
By Jim Theofelis, A Way Home Washington For years, youth homelessness advocacy has been held back by the lack of reliable data showing the true scope of the problem. Without actual numbers, it’s difficult to determine what we definitively need to solve youth homelessness – and it is solvable. This week, that changed. The University […]
Posted on August 11, 2017 in 100-Day Challenges, Raikes Foundation, Schultz Family Foundation, Uncategorized, Youth Homelessness
By Jim Theofelis, Executive Director This week, I had the honor of joining teams from Spokane, Pierce, and King counties to celebrate the conclusion of the 100-Day Challenges – a collaborative effort to connect youth and young adults with stable housing over a period of 100 days. We launched these Challenges in April because we […]
Posted on July 12, 2017 in legislative advocacy, Youth Homelessness
Washington state’s 2017 legislative session was complicated by challenging political and fiscal dynamics. Governor Inslee called the Legislature back for three special sessions before members agreed on a state budget, which the Governor signed on June 30th, narrowly avoiding a government shutdown. Lawmakers were required to adopt a budget that would provide adequate funding […]
Posted on June 23, 2017 in Uncategorized
By Jim Theofelis, Executive Director A young woman living on the streets in Spokane shared with me recently that most young people experiencing homelessness are trying hard to find stability and safety in their lives. They are not choosing to be homeless, but rather are searching for resources. Over the course of 100 days, three […]
Posted on April 27, 2017 in 100-Day Challenges, Raikes Foundation, Schultz Family Foundation, Youth Homelessness
By Jim Theofelis, Executive Director You may know Washington as the Evergreen state, but when it comes to spirit, entrepreneurship, and dedication to preventing and ending youth and young adult homelessness, I say we are the “CAN DO!” state! On April 18 and 19, A Way Home Washington (AWHWA) was thrilled to convene teams from […]
Posted on March 7, 2017 in Washington Office of Homeless Youth, Youth Homelessness
One of A Way Home Washington’s key strategies to prevent and end youth and young adult homelessness is to advocate for reforms and public funding at the state level. We see this as an important way to make sure that Washington state has the programs, services, and resources it needs to help all of our […]
Posted on February 2, 2017 in Washington Office of Homeless Youth, Youth Homelessness
(The following Op-Ed was authored by Kim Justice and Jim Theofelis and originally published in the Seattle Times February 1, 2017) On any given night, in every county of our state, many youth and young adults have no family to eat dinner with, no safe place in which to do homework or no bed to […]
Posted on January 26, 2017 in Youth Homelessness
KOMO News Radio spoke with A Way Home Washington’s Executive Director, Jim Theofelis, following Governor Jay Inslee’s directive to create an interagency work group on youth homelessness and release of the Office of Homeless Youth’s 2016 report. “I think that Washington state is positioned to be a national model in really tackling the issue of […]
