Anchor Communities are entering the second stage in the work to end youth and young adult homelessness: Reducing homelessness. Two communities, Pierce and Walla Walla, have achieved quality, real-time data, and Yakima and Spokane aren’t far behind. This incredible milestone also contributes to the advancement of our racial and LGBTQ+ equity plan. With quality data, […]
Posted on October 27, 2020 in Equity, Lived Experience, Youth and Young Adult Engagement, Youth Homelessness, Youth Leadership
Currently in my fourth year at Walla Walla University, I’m truly proud of myself for making it this far. Growing up, my family and I lived off social security, food stamps, and section eight housing. So, the fact that I’m going to college to have a career to provide for myself is truly a dream. […]
Posted on October 1, 2020 in Anchor Community Initiative, Behind the Scenes
Quality, real-time data is the cornerstone of the Anchor Community Initiative. Our Data & Evaluation Manager, Vishesh Jain, shares how Walla Walla achieved this milestone. In February, Walla Walla became the first Anchor Community to complete the Youth and Young Adult By-Name List Scorecard. This meant that Walla Walla could definitively say that their community […]
Posted on August 18, 2020 in Equity, Youth Leadership
The year 2020 has been a year of events that are unexplainable and out of this world. COVID-19 has forced the world to reshape how we go about our everyday lives and how we interact with one another. Being a college student, my spring quarter was online due to COVID-19. Then, George Floyd’s murder took […]
Posted on August 17, 2020 in Anchor Community Initiative, Reducing Homelessness
Now that all Anchor Communities are on a path to achieve quality, real-time data, communities have started testing new strategies to reduce homelessness. In Spokane, the community’s Coordinated Entry Diversion Workgroup and Youth Advisory Board (YAB) are collaborating to test simple changes to the Coordinated Entry process and measure their impact on reducing homelessness. Coordinated […]
Posted on August 17, 2020 in Anchor Community Initiative, Equity
What does it mean to end youth and young adult homelessness? In the Anchor Community Initiative, we define ending youth and young adult homelessness as reaching functional zero – a state where a community’s youth and young adult homelessness system has the capacity to house every young person experiencing homelessness each month. Exact definitions for […]
Posted on July 20, 2020 in Equity
As nationwide protests have unfolded over the murder of George Floyd, Brianna Taylor, and many more Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), the staff at A Way Home Washington have been reflecting on the intersection between the over policing of BIPOC and youth and young adult (YYA) homelessness. We cannot in good conscience stand in […]
Posted on July 20, 2020 in Anchor Community Initiative, Equity
Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) and LGTBQ+ folx disproportionately experience homelessness. If we’re truly serious about ending homelessness, we must be equally serious about ending the systemic racism and discrimination against LGBTQ+ folx that lead to this inequity. Often, racial and LGBTQ+ equity are perceived as “extra work” that we do in addition to […]
Posted on July 17, 2020 in Centralized Diversion Fund
To end youth and young adult homelessness, we need a variety of solutions in our toolbox. Young people’s situations are unique, and that means communities must build the capacity to respond to all sorts of needs. That’s why we created the Centralized Diversion Fund, a source of flexible financial assistance to help secure housing for […]
Posted on June 22, 2020 in Lived Experience, Youth and Young Adult Engagement, Youth Homelessness
Youth, young adults, and alumni with lived experience have the wisdom and expertise we need to develop effective solutions to youth and young adult homelessness. Tyrell is a member of the Spokane Anchor Community Initiative Core Team, and this is his story of how the current public health crisis has affected life and access to […]