Media contact: Carolyn Marinan, Communications, 612-348-5969
Media contact: Casey Schleisman, Office to End Homelessness, 612-756-2277
During Hennepin County’s 100-Day Challenge on Youth
Homelessness, the community exceeded its goal of assisting 150 youth in finding
housing, with 236 youth obtaining safe, stable homes.
Between July 31 – November 8, Hennepin County joined four
other U.S. communities in this challenge to combat homelessness among youth
ages 16 – 24.
“I am very proud of our community’s response to this challenge. This work makes a huge difference in the lives of many young people, while aligning with the county’s goals of supporting people in being self-reliant. Let’s take what worked on and do more of it,” Hennepin County Commissioner Marion Greene said.
In addition to surpassing its housing goal, the community made steady progress on its goal of assisting youth in finding employment and continuing education. At the end of the challenge, 135 youth (57 percent of youth housed) had obtained a job or paid internship, training or credentialing, GED or diploma or post-secondary education. The goal was to assist 75 percent of the youth to find employment or advance their education.
Continued housing and
employment connections
The challenge team worked with housing and employment partners to provide comprehensive services for youth. Efforts included a youth resource fair, during which 75 youth accessed housing, employment and wellness resources.
The team plans to advance these efforts through case conferencing, an intentional way of working together to provide the appropriate housing and employment services for each individual youth.
“We’ve made significant progress helping young people find employment, but our team can’t do this work alone. We are recruiting employers and property owners who are interested in making a difference in our community,” Steve Cramer, president and CEO of the Minneapolis Downtown Council and challenge sponsor, said.
Other strategies and
successes
During the challenge, about 35 percent of the 236 youth exited
homelessness by reuniting with their families, thanks in part to family
mediation. The team plans to expand on efforts like this by implementing
homelessness diversion and prevention into the coordinated entry system, the
county’s approach to organizing and providing housing services for people
experiencing homelessness.
Another strategy involved proposed changes to the county’s
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Employment and Training Program. In
addition, the City of Minneapolis prioritized its workforce programming for
youth experiencing homelessness.
“The youth housing and employment providers, along with the
county, came together in new and more effective ways during this challenge to
achieve greater results in housing and employing youth experiencing homelessness.
I am honored to be a part of this team – and look forward to all that we can
continue to achieve moving forward,” Beth Holger-Ambrose, executive director of
The Link and challenge sponsor, said.
To track progress, partners and champions will continue gathering
metrics on a systemic level.
How you can help
The team will continue recruiting and providing support to
employers and property owners interested in supporting youth in their
transition out of homelessness.
Find out more at www.hennepin.us/100-day-challenge
or by contacting Casey Schleisman at casey.schleisman@hennepin.us or
612-756-2277.
“Thank you to all of the champions and partners for their hard work throughout these 100 days and beyond. While the challenge has ended, we will continue expanding work to integrate housing and employment opportunities for youth,” Casey Schleisman, co-leader of the challenge, said.
Challenge partners and champions
The following organizations
and businesses participated in the 100-day challenge:
-
Avenues for
Homeless Youth
-
Beacon Interfaith
Housing Collaborative
-
Catholic
Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis – Hope Street for Homeless Youth
-
City of
Minneapolis Employment and Training
- Downtown Congregations
to End Homelessness
-
Goodwill Easter
Seals
- Hennepin County
- HIRED
-
Minneapolis Community
and Technical College
- Minneapolis Downtown Council
-
Minneapolis
Public School District
- Minnesota Department of Human Services – Office of Economic Opportunity
-
MoveFwd
-
Oasis for Youth
-
Suburban Hennepin
Workforce
-
Tree Trust
-
The Bridge for
Youth
-
The Link
-
United Way
-
YMCA of the
Greater Twin Cities
-
YouthLink
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Look for more news on the Hennepin County website at www.hennepin.us/news.
Discover how we're making a difference in our communities at www.hennepin.us/stories.
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