Ending Youth and Young Adult Homelessness
We’re committed to preventing and ending youth and young adult homelessness within the City of Boston.
We launched our “Rising to the Challenge” plan in November 2019. You can learn more about the plan, as well as ways to get involved, on this page.
Are you a young person who is not sure where you will be staying tonight? Check out these resources:
About the Plan
Boston is committed to preventing and ending youth and young adult homelessness. In November 2019, the City of Boston and an expansive network of community partners launched, "Rising to the Challenge: Boston's Plan to Prevent and End Youth and Young Adult Homelessness."
In 2017, former mayor Martin J. Walsh allocated $165,000 in technical help to support this goal. In April 2018, the City, the Boston Youth Action Board, and 280 community members launched the initiative "Rising to the Challenge". Over the next year, community partners reviewed the services available to young people experiencing housing instability. They also reviewed how the community could better support their wellbeing through housing, health and education, and employment. This work was bolstered in July 2018. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded the City $4.9 million through the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program. This award will fund housing and services as part of our plan.
IMPLEMENTING THE PLANEnding youth and young adult homelessness is within our reach. But we have a lot of work to do.
We’re working with many partners to implement our plan, "Rising to the Challenge". The plan is a coordinated, community response. We are including all groups and sectors in our community. These include health, justice, educational, religious, cultural, and other services.
Community participation
Several committees and one board — made up of nearly 110 public and private partners — created the plan.
As we start to implement the plan, committees that focus on data collection and analysis, fundraising, community engagement, and strategies for intervention and prevention are likely to reconvene, and new committees may be created. Do you want to become involved and help us end youth and young adult homelessness? Please contact Beatriz Moreira at beatriz.moreira@boston.gov.
About the Youth Action Board
Youth Action BoardThe Boston Youth Action Board is a group of young adults who have experienced homelessness while under the age of 25. They provide feedback to the City and community on how we can improve services. The board also provides community education and influences key decision-makers.
A list of some things the Youth Action Board knows to be true.
Learn more about the Youth Action Board.
Read the agreement between the board and the City of Boston’s Continuum of Care.
If You Need Help
Are you a young person experiencing homelessness right now? Be sure to check out these resources:
Organization | Service | Location | Contact |
---|---|---|---|
211 / Helpsteps |
Free, multilingual, phone and web-based service with an extensive database of resources |
2-1-1 | |
Bridge Over Troubled Waters | Overnight shelter, daytime services (ages 14–24) | 47 West Street Boston, MA 02111 |
617-423-9575 |
Y2Y | Overnight shelter (ages 18-24) | 1 Church St (Middle Entrance) Cambridge, MA 02138 |
617-864-0795 |
Boston Public Schools Homeless Education Resource Network Liaison | Public elementary, middle, and high school support and rights |
Isatu Mansaray |
|
Boston Public Schools Re-Engagement Center | Support to re-enter school, take classes, build credit, and work towards a diploma | Madison Park Complex Building 1 55 Malcolm X Blvd. Roxbury, MA 02120 |
617-635-2273 |
The Home for Little Wanderers | Housing and services for families and youth | 10 Guest Street Boston, MA 02135 |
888-Home-321 or 617-267-3700 |
Roca | Comprehensive support for young people with criminal justice history (18-24) | 101 Park Street Chelsea, MA 02150 |
617-889-5210 |
More Than Words | Youth-led employment and development (ages 16-24) | 781-788-0035 | |
Boston Alliance of LGBTQ+ Youth (BAGLY) | Youth-led, adult-supported social support organization committed to social justice, and creating, sustaining, and advocating for programs, policies, and services for the LGBTQ youth community. | 28 Court Square Boston, MA 02108 |
617-227-4313 info@bagly.org |
Boston CASA | Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) to ensure a safe and permanent home for court-involved children in Suffolk County who have experienced abuse and neglect | 85 Merrimac Street Boston, MA 02114 |
617-780-4055 |
Breaktime | Breaktime is a Boston-based nonprofit working to end young adult homelessness through purposeful transitional employment and financial empowerment. We empower young adults experiencing homelessness to secure stable employment and permanent housing while bolstering the health of their communities. | 170 Portland Street Boston, MA 02114 | 617-286-6047 |
Latest news
NewsMore information
More info- Action for Boston Community Development
- AIDS Action Committee
- Arlington Street Church
- Boston Afterschool and Beyond
- Boston CASA
- Boston Public Health Commission
- Boston Public Schools
- Boston Children's Hospital
- Boston University
- Boston Youth Action Board
- Bottomline
- Breaktime
- Bridge Over Troubled Waters
- Bunker Hill Community College
- Center for Teen Empowerment
- Citizens' Housing and Planning Association
- City of Boston - Boston Centers for Youth & Families
- City of Boston - Department of Neighborhood Development
- City of Boston - Health and Human Services Cabinet
- City of Boston - Mayor's Office of Workforce Development
- City of Boston - Office of Fair Housing
- City of Boston - Office of Recovery Services
- MA Dept. of Children & Families
- MA Dept. of Housing and Community Development
- MA Dept. of Mental Health
- Emerson College
- Emmanuel Gospel Center
- ESAC
- Family Aid Boston
- Gavin Foundation
- Home for Little Wanderers
- Homes for Families
- Justice Resource Institute (JRI)
- JRI - Youth Harbors
- JRI/ My Life My Choice
- Liberty Mutual
- MA Coalition for the Homeless
- MA LGBTQ Youth Commission
- Madison Park CDC
- Massachusetts Housing & Shelter Alliance (MHSA)
- MetroHousing Boston
- More Than Words
- Northeastern
- Office of Councilor Annissa Essaibi-George
- PFLAG
- Pine Street Inn
- Plummer Youth Promise
- Project Place
- Reengagement Center
- Roca
- Samaritan Steps
- Silver Lining Mentoring
- St Francis House
- Starlight Ministries
- The Boston Foundation
- Traction
- United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley
- Victory Programs
- X-Cel Education
- Y2Y Harvard Square
- Y5
- YearUp
- Youth on Fire
- "Boston Houses More Than 100 Young People In First Year Of Anti-Homelessness Initiative" (WBUR, November 24, 2020)
- "Boston’s battle against youth homelessness gets a big boost" (Boston Globe, July 17, 2018)
- "Boston announces $5 million investment in youth homelessness, affordable housing" (Spare Change News, April, 2019)
- "Boston’s Mayor Walsh announces new plan to end youth homelessness" (Boston Herald, February 14, 2018)
- "City of Boston announces new push to end youth homelessness" (WBUR, October 10, 2017)
- "Walsh launches efforts to end youth homelessness in Boston" (Metro, October 10, 2017)