Mission Investors Exchange’s Post

As a state, we can't say we are working toward solving the homelessness crisis when we have shortsighted proposals like this on the table, proposals that save a few dollars now only to cause greater economic and societal pain down the road. Through its Preventing and Ending Homelessness Program, Bet Tzedek Legal Services has learned more and more about the precarious situation many former foster youth face. Our partnership with Safe Place for Youth (SPY) allows us to connect with youth facing any number of legal issues that when left unaddressed increase the chances of housing insecurity and, ultimately, homelessness. We receive funding from a different funding stream than what is threatened by this budget cuts. But the work we do would not be as effective without the case management and support services provided by the folks at SPY. Working collaboratively, we keep these youth on a path of safety and, dare I say, prosperity.

Urgent Update: Google is stepping up to tackle homelessness by backing guaranteed income initiatives. How can this innovative approach bring relief to those in need? Dive into our latest article for insights and implications. 🔍 Key points covered by Constance Matthiessen: The impact of guaranteed income on homelessness Google's role and commitment Perspectives from experts and community leaders Join the discussion! What are your thoughts on guaranteed income as a solution to homelessness? #Homelessness #GuaranteedIncome #Philanthropy #Google #SocialImpact #CommunitySupport #GooglePhilanthropy #HomelessnessRelief #EconomicEquity #PovertyAlleviation #CrossSectorCollaboration

Statement from Greater Twin Cities United Way on this morning's Supreme Court ruling in Grants Pass v. Johnson: The Supreme Court's ruling in the case of Grants Pass v. Johnson is counter-productive to our collective goal of ending homelessness. Criminalizing homelessness only makes it more difficult for people to access and maintain stable housing. This approach is not only inhumane – it’s ineffective. Homelessness represents a failure of our public systems – in the ways that affordable housing is funded, built and maintained. The top cause of homelessness in the U.S. is the lack of affordable housing; in Minnesota there are only 42 affordable homes for every 100 households with low income. Our cities, counties and state government must prioritize policies that take a compassionate approach with our neighbors who are experiencing homelessness. Greater Twin Cities United Way continues to support our nonprofit partners who are providing affordable housing and trauma-informed, culturally responsive supportive services for individuals who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness; and to help communities access housing resources through our 211 resource helpline. We are also continuing our efforts to develop new policy solutions through our Pathways Home initiative, and through our ongoing advocacy at the Minnesota State Capitol. Greater Twin Cities United Way will continue to monitor the effects of this ruling and work with our nonprofit partners to ensure that all of our neighbors can have a safe, secure place to live. We partner with organizations who prevent and end homelessness through legal services, shelter, supportive housing, and holistic support services. Our partners in this work include: Connections to Independence (C2i) Al-Maa'uun Ujamaa Place MERRICK COMMUNITY SERVICES Solid Ground MN Emma Norton Services Model Cities of St Paul Inc CAPI USA - Immigrant Opportunity Center Avenues for Youth Ain Dah Yung Center Minnesota Indian Women's Resource Center American Indian Family Center The Bridge for Youth Clare Housing Esperanza United YouthLink MN YWCA St. Paul AMERICAN INDIAN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center Simpson Housing Services Tubman The Link Minnesota CLUES Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services, Inc. Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid Project for Pride in Living (PPL) Amherst H. Wilder Foundation RS EDEN Encouraging Leaders mn Foster Advocates Rebound, Inc. 180 Degrees, Inc.

Fighting homelessness hinges on two concurrent challenges: 1) Taking people off the street; and 2) Preventing those at highest risk from becoming unhoused. As I have long argued, the clearest entry point in tackling that second challenge is by better helping youth who age out of #fostercare. Released in July, this report from the California Policy Lab uses administrative data to better understand and predict #homelessness for Los Angeles County #fosteryouth. Between the ages of 21 and 24, 30% of all the 18-21 year-old youth in 2019 were tagged as having experienced homelessness by the Department of Social Services. This important research dovetails with longitudinal survey responses, wherein one quarter of California foster youth reported experienced homelessness between the ages of 21 and 23. Thanks to the authors Janey Rountree, Robert Santillano, Maya Buenaventura, Brian Blackwell, April Nunn and Andi Vidaurre for using their talents to highlight the acute need to do better for these young people. I am glad for L.A. County's support of this important research, and its potential for driving change. Please read here: https://lnkd.in/gKy5nUhD Better Angels The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation Reissa Foundation Conrad N. Hilton Foundation WHH FOUNDATION Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Blue Meridian Partners Specialty Family Foundation Weingart Foundation Matthew Haas Yali Lincroft Zaneta J. Smith, MSW May & Stanley Smith Charitable Trust Annie E. Casey Foundation Casey Family Programs Child Welfare League of America National Foster Youth Institute Think of Us California Community Foundation

Transition Age Youth (TAY) are at increased risk of homelessness. While you likely don't need data to understand this risk, Janey Rountree and her team give you a ton of it in this new report. Key findings from exploratory interviews: Personal experiences with the system and transitional and housing resources • The foster care system is designed to offer extensive structural support, services, and transition planning to TAY in foster care, but according to former foster youth and DCFS case workers, these services often fall short. • High turnover among Child and Family team staff members causes foster youth to disengage with the foster care system. • Foster youth report feeling isolated because of a lack of diversity and culturally relevant, trauma-informed care within the foster care system and foster families. • Fragmented services within the foster care system make it difficult for youth and their Child and Family team to know what supports are available. The services that are available vary in quality. • Youth with high needs report that support services are often stigmatized and weaponized, and as a result, youth are afraid to access support. • When TAY age out of the foster care system, they feel unprepared for independence. • TAY struggle to obtain and maintain employment sufficient to pay rent. • When TAY age out of the foster care system, they experience a supportive services cliff. • TAY have difficulty obtaining and maintaining housing in LA County* *Author's note: While the research and report focus on LA County, this is a prevalent US and global issue. And some of these challenges could be solved relatively quickly if we had agencies working across programmatic boundaries to create comprehensive multi-program access, better use of technology designed FOR the youth, and agreement to allow consent-based data sharing so youth enrolled in one program could agree to be considered for others.

A groundbreaking public-private partnership is taking on homelessness with a strategic and evidence-based approach. Our latest article on Inside Philanthropy highlights how this collaboration is leveraging the strengths of both sectors to provide effective housing solutions and support for those most in need. Discover how they are setting a new standard in the fight against homelessness. Martha Ramirez reports: Overview of the new public-private partnership's approach to homelessness How combining public resources and private innovation is driving success The impact of this collaboration on housing solutions and community well-being Tagging Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority California Community Foundation Conrad N. Hilton Foundation Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta #Homelessness #SocialImpact #HousingSolutions #PublicPrivatePartnership #CommunitySupport #InnovativePhilanthropy #HomelessnessSolutions #PublicPrivatePartnership #HousingInsecurity #CollaborativeEfforts #EvidenceBased #StableHousing #SupportServices #CommunityPartnerships #InnovativeSolutions #InsidePhilanthropy #Philanthropy

A SCOTUS decision on Johnson v. Grants Pass is Imminent ↪ What Funders (and Everyone!) Can Do to Speak Up for the Rights of People Experiencing Homelessness 🚨 Earlier this month, our national umbrella organization Funders Together to End Homelessness, as well as the National Alliance to End Homelessness, and Enterprise Community Partners submitted a joint amicus brief (https://lnkd.in/gztVPRBY) in support of the plaintiffs in the landmark case Johnson v Grants Pass. We joined more than 1,100 groups and individuals who signed on to 42 amicus briefs calling for protection of the rights of our unhoused neighbors under the U.S. Constitution. But the work is just beginning. Next Monday, April 22, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments for the case and determine whether or not it is legal for cities and states to ticket or arrest people experiencing homelessness for trying to meet basic needs, like sleeping outside when there is no other safe option. We encourage you get involved and show SCOTUS, Congress, and the media that homelessness is not a crime and that ticketing or arresting people makes homelessness worse. Here's how: 📌 Learn more about the Johnson v. Grants Pass case at https://lnkd.in/gqFwPr8E 📌 Join the San Diego Housing Emergency Alliance in Downtown #SanDiego on Monday, April 22n from 11:30am to 1pm on Broadway between the two Federal Courthouses (Front & State Streets) for a picket to support #HousingNotHandcuffs 📌 Participate locally and online through these actions and resources (https://lnkd.in/guxqgR2N) from our partners at the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Low Income Housing Coalition.   📌 Join the Twitterstorm on April 22, 8am-10am PT. Use the sample social media messages from our partners and the hashtags #JohnsonVGrantsPass and #HomelessnessIsSolvable. https://lnkd.in/gTvdKkNz Additional Ways Philanthropy Can Support 📌 Provide the space to strategize by supporting convening opportunities for partners, people with lived experience, funder peers, and community leaders. 📌 Consider flexible rapid response resources for housing justice narrative and messaging work that can be utilized before and after a decision.  📌 Produce op-eds or other educational media placements on the case. 📌 Explore how your institution, board, or trustees can utilize influence and connections in new and creative ways.

The most effective way to prevent adult homelessness is to prevent young people from experiencing it in the first place. Washington state's remarkable 40% reduction in youth homelessness since 2016 exemplifies the power of public-private partnerships. The Office of Homeless Youth, established in 2015, has been pivotal in deploying targeted policies and gaining substantial support through collaborations with young people, providers, the legislature, and foundations like Raikes Foundation, Ballmer Group, Campion Advocacy Fund, and Schultz Family Foundation. This strategic focus, championed by Governor Jay Inslee and supported by bipartisan efforts, has facilitated significant state investments—growing from $10 million to $90 million biennially. These funds have broadened services across the state and supported effective, direct intervention and upstream prevention programs that maintain a 90% success rate in housing stability after one year. To put an even finer point to the impact of a 40% reduction, this means almost 10,000 fewer youth experiencing homelessness each year. Our state's approach underscores the potential of empathetic, focused public-private partnerships to enact meaningful change. This model offers valuable lessons for other states aiming to tackle youth homelessness with sustainable and proactive strategies. Learn more in today's article in The Seattle Times.

MEDIA RELEASE  360°kids to release Black Youth Housing research findings  Markham, ON – On Tuesday June 4th, 360°kids will be welcoming members of the community and media to hear the findings of our research report: Understanding Black Youth Homelessness To Inform a Comprehensive Housing Model.  This report was developed as part of an initiative by 360°kids to build a culturally relevant transitional home for Black youth navigating homelessness in York Region. After forming a Community Advisory Committee consisting of members of several organizations serving Black youth and families, LogicalOutcomes, a Toronto-based non-profit consultancy, was contracted to undertake the research to investigate the experiences of Black youth in order to inform our development of a culturally specific transitional housing program.  Finding affordable and suitable housing is a significant challenge faced by young people in York Region. Beyond long waitlists and short supply, youth, especially young Black individuals, with limited income and/or no rental history have little to no chance of finding a safe and suitable apartment. “It is because of this disparity that 360°kids has focused on creating more housing opportunities for young people to access, aiming to address the systemic challenges faced by marginalized communities" says Clovis Grant, CEO 360°kids.  The report includes supporting research that highlights the importance of providing intentional supports and services to Black youth. Despite the Black population in York Region accounting for only 3% of the total population, our programs frequently observe a significant overrepresentation of Black youth experiencing homelessness, ranging from 10% to as high as 40%. “The report reminds us that anti-Black racism is having real impacts on young people and their families, contributing to their homelessness, as well as, exacerbating the trauma it creates. The report also stresses the importance of having culturally affirming supports and a space for healing to interrupt the impact of anti-Black racism in the lives of unhoused Black youth if we are to prevent homelessness” says Clovis Grant, CEO 360°kids. As an organization rooted in a prevention model, we view this research as a guidepost to inform the development of supports that are intentionally tailored and culturally appropriate. 360°kids has already acquired the house and the next phase will be renovating the home to suit the needs of the planned program model that will be part of our Transitions Program. Learn more on our Website: https://lnkd.in/evb-8ME7

Amidst the pressing concerns surrounding homelessness, John Quetzalcoatl Murray’s recent Whole Community News interview with Lane Community College’s Board of Directors member, Kevin Alltucker, sheds light on multifaceted perspectives from a long-time Oregonian deeply invested in his community. Alltucker's rich background, spanning from his roles as a construction engineer to his tenure as a University of Oregon College of Education Professor in Family and Human Services, offers a unique lens through which to examine this complex issue. As the Board President of Relief Nursery and a certified Inside Out Instructor, Alltucker approaches homelessness with a nuanced understanding, emphasizing the urgency of addressing both immediate challenges and long-term systemic change. In the interview, Alltucker underscores the significance of prevention over after-the-fact treatment, advocating for proactive measures to tackle homelessness head-on. Rejecting simplistic solutions, he emphasizes the need for comprehensive approaches that address the intricate web of societal issues contributing to homelessness. He contends that coercive measures or incarceration cannot serve as panaceas, highlighting the importance of voluntary participation in treatment and rehabilitation. One of the interview's pivotal takeaways is Alltucker's observation that the majority of individuals incarcerated in the state have endured severe childhood trauma—a sobering reminder of the profound societal issues at the root of homelessness. Challenging false dichotomies and advocating for a more nuanced discourse, Alltucker urges for a shift towards scientific inquiry, where individuals engage with positions rather than attacking personalities. 🏆💪🏻 Can you tell I’m passionate about the piece? Read the article in its entiriety here: