Consultant Services to Develop a Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program Coordinated Community Plan

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) solicits communities annually to apply for the Youth Homeless Demonstration Program grant (YHDP). The YHDP is an initiative designed to support communities across the United States in the development and implementation of a coordinated community approach to preventing and ending youth homelessness. Pierce County was awarded the YHDP award in the amount of approximately $3.5 million. The YHDP is a community led project which places decision making power with the local Youth Action Board (YAB) which is a group of youth and young adults with current or previous experience with homelessness or housing instability. The YAB will operate as a sub-committee of the Continuum of Care, but it is a separate decision-making body with regard to YHDP funds.

A central requirement of YHDP is that each selected community develops a Coordinated Community Plan (CCP) to prevent and end youth homelessness. HUD designed YHDP to allow for up to 12 months for initial planning, together with a significant level of direct HUD technical assistance and time for HUD feedback, and plan edits by the community. The planning process is expected to lay the groundwork for implementation and provide a framework for the various projects that the Collaborative Applicant (Pierce County Human Services) will request HUD to fund within the selected community. The selected consultant will work closely with the YAB in plan creation, project implementation, and approval of funding recommendations. The purpose of these projects is to demonstrate how a coordinated community approach to serving homeless youth, age 24 and younger, can dramatically reduce homelessness.

The Pierce County Human Services department, specifically the Homeless Services team, is responsible for serving the homeless and housing service needs of the residents of Pierce County who are experiencing homelessness. The team delivers services relating to prevention, street outreach, emergency shelter, safe parking, Coordinated Entry, Rapid Rehousing and Permanent Supportive Housing. The Departments website is a valuable resource for information about the many services provided. Please access the website at www.piercecountywa.org/hs.