Oregon Dept. of Human Services and partner to address youth homelessness

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Oregon will benefit from the growing statewide momentum to address youth homelessness in a new partnership with the Corporation for Supportive Housing.

This effort will result in a statewide approach to addressing and ending homelessness for youth, state officials said last week.

As part of this agreement, CSH will conduct a regional needs assessment of the housing continuum and service needs for youth experiencing homelessness. The assessment will include:

• Determining existing interventions,
• Understanding how well these current interventions work, and
• Identifying gaps through a regional modeling system.

Assessment results will be used to create a roadmap for building the optimal support system for young adults experiencing homelessness in Oregon. Recommendations will include financial modeling for additional housing and services interventions across the housing continuum.

“Oregon ranks 4th highest in the nation in our count of homeless youth. Thousands of youth and young adults are living without a home or the support of a parent or guardian,” said Runaway and Homeless Youth Program Coordinator Matt Rasmussen.

On the new partnership with CSH, he stated, “It is one thing to have some basic statistics about youth experiencing homelessness, but entirely another to understand the pathways that lead young people out of homelessness and what housing and services are needed in order for Oregon’s youth and young adults to thrive.”

Kickoff for the Statewide Assessment and Oregon State Youth System Modeling began on Oct. 8. Local planning sessions will begin in January and be scheduled around the state in the months to come. “CSH is thrilled to partner with ODHS and all Oregon communities to seize the momentum that was evident by the bi-partisan support of HB4039 during the last legislative session,” said Annie Bacci, CSH associate director.

CSH and ODHS are eager to hear from all interested parties in these planning sessions. There is a strong desire to actively engage youth, tribal representatives, and members of often under-represented populations such as LGBTQ and BIPOC residents.

To learn more about this assessment or get involved, visit ODHS’ homeless youth webpage. To learn more about housing and services or youth experiencing homelessness visit www.csh.org.