On November 4, 2022, the Houston Business Journal featured Houston reVision in a report about a new grant to address Houston youth experiencing homelessness.
Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County disburses $10.4M grant to local nonprofits
Nov 4, 2022, 1:10pm CDT
Sofia Gonzalez, Reporter, Houston Business Journal
A new multi-agency effort to help Houston’s youth and young adult homeless population has been kick-started with the disbursement of a $10.4 million grant for eight local nonprofits.
The money, which the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development originally awarded to the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County in September 2021, is a part of HUD’s Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program, an initiative working to reduce the number of youth experiencing homelessness.
The Coalition for the Homeless worked with a youth advisory board and youth-serving agencies, alongside other nonprofit and community stakeholders, from late 2021 into spring 2022 to draft a comprehensive community plan. This plan aims to end homelessness for youth — minors under 18 — and young adults from ages 18 to 24, who are not accompanied by an adult. It was approved by HUD in April 2022.
Individuals who have experienced youth and young adult homelessness were included in the meetings to provide their input and expertise.
“This new project will knock down known and unknown barriers for youth experiencing homelessness in Houston,” said Kenny Easley, a member of the youth advisory board. “In the past, youth experiencing homelessness sometimes had to go off on their own tracks because the system didn’t always work for them. Now, we’ll be able to show them, ‘You’re not alone. You’re cared for.’”
The Coalition for the Homeless chose the local nonprofits to award money to after a request for proposal process. The nonprofits awarded are:
Covenant House Texas, an organization that has been around for nearly 40 years, will use about $1.9 million to provide traditional housing and rehousing for youth and young adults.
Montrose Grace Place — an organization that provides a safe environment for vulnerable youth of all sexualities and genders experiencing homelessness — will use $250,000 to provide homelessness diversion resources for youth and young adults.
Houston reVision, a regional group that works on the longer term to help end homelessness for youth and young adults, will use about $800,000 to provide homeless diversion services.
Search Homeless Services, an organization that helps homeless Houstonians, will use about $352,000 to provide street outreach and housing navigation for youth and young adults.
Spring Branch Community Health Center, a center that offers a variety of health services, will use about $2 million to provide transitional housing as well as rapid rehousing for kids and young adults.
Temenos Community Development Corp. — an organization that provides affordable housing opportunities, supportive services and employment resources to low- and extremely low-income people — will use about $462,000 to provide permanent supportive housing for children and young adults with disabilities and/or complex needs.
The Montrose Center, which works to help those in the LGBTQ+ community, will use about $472,000 to provide employment support and homelessness diversion resources for youth and young adults.
TLC Health & Wellness provides supportive services, housing coordination, a volunteer corner and community connections. It will use about $1 million to provide transitional housing and rapid rehousing for youth and young adults.
About $1 million will also be split among the Montrose Center, Search Homeless Services and TLC Health & Wellness for a coordinated entry system.
During a two-year demonstration period that began Nov. 1, the agencies will "build capacity, activate their programs, and show how a coordinated community approach can reduce youth homelessness," according to a Nov. 3 announcement.
According to Charles Rotramel, CEO of Houston reVision, there is an increase in the unstably housed youth in the Houston area. He said Houston Independent School District has reported about 10,000 students in unstable housing, up from 6,000 reported two years ago.
Young people are often left out of discussions about homelessness, which presents itself in ways other than just sleeping on the street, Rotramel said. For young people, homelessness can include sleeping in vehicles, couch surfing or staying with a relative, he said.
“It’s important for the general public to know that this isn’t a new issue, but it can be invisible,” Rotramel said.
The 40% of all homeless youth who identify as LGTBQ+ also face unique challenges due to a lack of cultural competency by traditional rehousing providers, said Ann J. Robison, executive director of the Montrose Center.
“We have a crisis of ‘at-risk’ youth who are on the verge of homelessness, including youth who are about to age out of the foster care system,” said Mike Nichols, president and CEO of the Coalition for the Homeless. “Now, we have a plan in place and the right partners at the table to identify and engage youth in services, to expand and coordinate systems tailored to unique youth needs, and to facilitate youth access to services to maintain stability and help to break the cycle of homelessness.”
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