HHAPP RECCS

We, the undersigned, are members of the Los Angeles Coalition to End Youth Homelessness (LACEYH), recommend the Homeless Housing, Assistance, Prevention Program (HHAPP) funding be utilized towards the priority interventions and strategies included within this letter. The recommended fund usages address priority gaps within the system of services for young people experiencing or at risk of homelessness in the Los Angeles Continuum of Care (CoC), and are in alignment with allowable cost expenditures for HHAPP as outlined in state legislation AB 101.

We further advocate that LAHSA double the minimum required amount of HHAPP to be dedicated towards addressing youth and young adult homelessness from 8% to 16%. As can be seen in the steady decrease in the population of veterans experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles, if adequate resources are specifically targeted towards addressing the unique needs of a group of people experiencing homelessness, measurable and significant progress can be made. Boosting investment in addressing youth homelessness is particularly crucial at this time, as youth and young adult homelessness increased 24% from 2018 to 2019 in the Los Angeles CoC.

HHAPP Funding Recommendations

1. Increase permanent housing resources for young people.

• Increase youth-dedicated Rapid Rehousing resources that include staff support (case management) from youth-serving agencies with the expertise to assist youth in finding and maintaining rental housing. LACEYH also recommends including Rapid Rehousing resources within Transitional Housing programs, to explore and identify best practices for youth-specific Transition Housing - Rapid Rehousing joint component models (TH-RRH). These programs should include funding for landlord incentives, such as increased security deposits or damage mitigation fund availability, to expand landlord recruitment and retention efforts.
• Increase youth-dedicated Permanent Supportive Housing resources, in recognition of the 564 youth who were chronically homeless at the time of the 2019 Point-in-Time count. At this time, there are only 70 youth-dedicated PSH beds in Los Angeles, a significant gap from the number of resources that are needed. We encourage exploration of two models of PSH: traditional PSH in which young people maintain supportive housing vouchers without a time limited as well as PSH modeled after the federal FUP for youth vouchers, in which youth have access to supportive housing vouchers for three years while assessment can be completed to determine if longer supports are necessary or beneficial. The latter model could be implemented exclusively with HHAPP funding.

2. Increase interim housing resources for young people.

• Increase low-barrier interim housing resources for young people and include dedicated funding for behavioral health specialists and/or alternative care specialists within the programs, to increase accessibility of shelters for the significant number of youth who are unsheltered who report substance use disorders and/or mental health concerns.
• Invest in interim housing that is targeted towards specific subpopulations of youth and young adults experiencing homelessness, such as victims of domestic violence or human trafficking. For example, Los Angeles does not currently have any youth-specific shelters for victims of domestic/intimate partner violence or human trafficking, yet nearly 15% of youth in the most recent PIT reported their experience of homelessness was due to fleeing from domestic or intimate partner violence. Further, 28 percent of youth who reported domestic or intimate partner violence as their reason for homelessness are transgender or gender non-conforming, though less than 3.5% of youth experiencing homelessness are transgender or gender non-conforming: this speaks to a critical need for ensuring responsive, inclusive victim services are available for youth of all genders.

3. Increase investment in outreach and prevention services for young people.

• Expand youth-specific prevention and early intervention services, with a focus on increasing early prevention services within systems in which young people with higher prevalences of homelessness engage. This includes looking at crisis response services for adolescents, as a national study found that 50% of youth first experienced unaccompanied homelessness between the ages of 16 and 18, and another 21% first experienced homelessness on their own between the ages of 13 and 15. As an example, HHAPP funding could be used for youth-specific outreach efforts targeted towards community centers, schools, workforce services programs, and other locations where young people are likely to frequent and may not be currently served via traditional street-based outreach models.

Additional Recommendations Beyond HHAPP

HHAPP brings new and critically-needed resources into the Los Angeles CoC to address youth and young adult homelessness. In addition to the recommendations above, which align with HHAPP allowable fund usages, we advocate for the following system enhancements and increased resources beyond the scope of HHAPP, to make a more significant impact in resolving the housing crises faced by thousands of young people in Los Angeles each year.

1. Evaluate and build the capacity of the systems with an equity approach.

In the LA CoC point in time count in 2019 40% of youth and young adults identified as Black/African American. Institutional and systemic racism that includes implicit bias in upstream and mainstream resources, a lack of employment opportunities and rising housing costs, and disproportionate rates of criminal justice and child welfare system involvement amongst Black youth. In order to strengthen the current system, equity evaluation and potential system redesign should be undertaken.

In April 2018, LAHSA’s Ad Hoc Committee on Black People Experiencing Homelessness released a report on the factors contributing to the overrepresentation of Black people experiencing housing crises in Los Angeles County. LACEYH recommends LAHSA fully pursue the recommendations that were included in the report that can reduce disparities of homelessness amongst Black youth. Additionally, it is encouraged that LAHSA pursue similiar evaluation efforts to examine the overrepresentation of subpopulations in youth experiencing homelessness, including transgender and gender non-conforming youth and young adults. In addition to evaluating factors that contribute to homelessness, it is necessary to evaluate implemented solutions for continuous refinement and improvement. Funding should prioritize quantitative and qualitative analysis to measure the effectiveness of the programs being implemented by the LAHSA and highlight the voices of young people with lived experience.

To ensure the LA CoC’s homeless response system is accessible, inclusive, and responsive to the needs of YYA entering services—and particularly, to improve outcomes for young people currently experiencing disproportionate rates of homelessness due to race and gender inequities, LAHSA should institute and require cultural competency training across providers that include curricula on implicit bias, anti-racism, cultural responsiveness, and LGBTQ+ affirmative services.

2. Elevate youth and young adults voices to strengthen systems and create regional partnerships.

Youth with lived experience of homelessness should be equitable drivers of policy and programmatic decisions within LAHSA and other relevant systems. LACEYH recommends elevating YYA systems and policy impact by funding additional paid peer navigator (or similar) positions within LAHSA-contracted agencies. LACEYH further recommends that a youth or young adult with lived experience of homelessness is added to the LAHSA representative board, and that the role and influence of HYFLA continue to expand within the Continuum of Care.

3. Fund new or innovative housing and service models that can prevent or reduce youth homelessness.

To continue to identify effective interventions that can prevent and reduce youth homelessness, we recommend LAHSA support innovative pilot project funding to assess the feasibility of new program models and strategies. Innovation is critical for ending youth homelessness and several evidence based-models that address poverty exist that could be piloted in the Continuum of Care. For example, it is encouraged that LAHSA consider expanding funding to young adult-specific host home programs, as well as respite host home programs (less than 21 days), and home-sharing models as shelter diversion models that are directly linked to long-term housing options.