Ending 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.

Ending 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.

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 Yahaira Bautista at yahaira.bautista@boston.gov.