Louisville One of Five Communities Accelerating Youth Homelessness Efforts

Louisville, KY (May 30, 2017) – Building on the success of three cities that made remarkable progress last Fall, the Coalition for the Homeless is proud to announce that Louisville, Kentucky was selected by Rapid Results Institute (RRI), A Way Home America, and HomeBase as one of five cities to launch a 100-Day Challenge to accelerate efforts to end youth homelessness. The other cities selected were Baltimore (MD), Columbus (OH), Hennepin County (MN), and Palm Beach County (FL). This work is made possible through funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and private philanthropic partners. Rapid Results Institute (RRI) and HomeBase will offer technical support to each a community as they strive to meet their goals.

A 100-Day Challenge is a project where a community decides together on an incredibly ambitious goal: to end experiences of homelessness for a large number of young people in their community. With just 100 days to meet their goal, everyone from community leaders down to front-line workers are invited to do their work differently, change systems and innovate. In order to make great strides, communities must take on great challenges. The limited timeframe, the high-profile effort, and the intensive support from RRI results in communities progressing on three major tasks: problem solving, innovation, and partnership-building.

The Coalition for the Homeless in Louisville began working to understand youth homelessness in 2013, including two studies on the needs of youth and the creation of a committee called the Coalition Supporting Young Adults (CSYA), now a separate partner organization. The CSYA undertook community mapping to understand existing resources, including youth shelter; drop in centers; and education, employment and housing opportunities available for homeless youth. This mapping process enabled CSYA and the community to identify gaps and potential opportunities to re-allocate existing resources. The collaborative work of CSYA has already supported the development of new resources including two new drop-in centers, a community-wide plan to reengage out of school youth and a professional development program to train a cohort of “connectors” who can quickly link homeless and disconnected youth. 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. These entities will be crucial as Louisville continues to address youth homelessness during the 100-Day Challenge.

“Our plan and implementation must not only address the housing needs of approximately 868 youth, but also create preventive solutions to keep the large number of precariously housed youth counted by JCPS not only out of the shelters, but in a safe setting that allows them to thrive,” says Natalie Harris, Executive Director of the Coalition for the Homeless in Louisville. “One of our main focuses will be in creating transitional and rapid rehousing programs integrated with education and employment.”

By meeting and then exceeding their goals, Austin, Cleveland, and Los Angeles set the bar Fall 2016: together, they housed nearly 450 young people in just 100 days. These three communities were the first round of 100-Day Challenges on youth homelessness.

Individuals, organizations, and communities interested in following the 100-Day Challenge progress can sign up to receive news from AWHA at awayhomeamerica.org. Those interested can also follow the challenges using #100DayChallengeAccepted and #endyouthhomelessness on Twitter.

For more information about the efforts of the Coalition for the Homeless in Louisville, visit www.louhomeless.org or call (502) 636-9550.

About the Coalition for the Homeless
The Coalition for the Homeless, located at 1300 S. 4^th 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 31 member agencies that provide a variety of services to the homeless throughout the city. The Coalition for the Homeless and 41 partners began a city-wide effort to end youth and young adult homelessness in 2017. You can change a life. Be a mentor or hire a young adult in need in our community. For places to get involved, go to: http://louhomeless.org/?p=4321. To learn more about the Coalition visit www.louhomeless.org, call (502) 636-9550, or find the Coalition 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 enables front-line teams to deliver seemingly impossible results, often in 100 daysor less, and helps leaders leverage these initial results 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.org