Youth Homeless Demonstration Program
The Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) is an exciting new initiative designed to END youth homelessness.
Youth Homeless Demonstration Program (YHDP)
The Way Home Continuum of Care (CoC), our local homeless response system, has received the fourth-highest award in the country in 2021 -- $10 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) -- for the Youth Homeless Demonstration Program (YHDP). The YHDP provides our community with the funding, technical assistance, and flexibility to develop and implement a coordinated community approach to youth homelessness that matches the needs, assets, constraints, and preferences of our community stakeholders.

The YHDP is an exciting new initiative designed to prevent and end youth homelessness. The goal of the YHDP is to support The Way Home in the development and implementation of a Coordinated Community Plan (CCP) to prevent and end youth homelessness.
View our CCP below!
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Youth and Young Adult Resources
“We must be willing to get rid of the life we have accepted, so that we may obtain the life that is destined for us.” - Houston YAB
Youth Action Board (YAB)
Through the YHDP, The Way Home has partnered with youth & young adults with lived experienced of homelessness to create a Youth Action Board (YAB). The YAB provides strategic direction and oversight to the activities connected to the YHDP. As a formal component of The Way Home, the YAB provides direct input on all issues related to youth homelessness with a near-term focus on the development of the Coordinated Community Plan.
The YAB is an authentic and equitable partner in every step of the community’s youth homeless response efforts, from planning to implementation of new projects to continuous quality improvement of the youth homeless response system.
YAB Requirements
- Must have experienced homelessness as a youth or young adult
- Must be between the ages of 14-28
If you are a youth or young adult with lived experience of homelessness and are interested in participating in our Youth Action Board, please complete the Contact Us form.
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The Strategy
The Coordinated Community Plan (CCP) is be the product of an intensive planning process which has created a shared vision, mission, goals, and action steps to prevent and end youth homelessness.
Communities selected to participate in YHDP are charged with creating a CCP with community stakeholders, the lead agency, technical assistance provided by HUD, but most importantly, youth with lived experience. To develop the CCP, the community undergoes an intensive planning process to create a shared vision, mission, goals, and action steps to end youth homelessness. This planning process will also influence how the YHDP funding will be used in the community.
We are excited to announce that The Way Home YHDP CCP was approved by HUD on April 26, 2022! Check out our strategy to prevent and end youth homelessness within The Way Home below.
Funded YHDP Partners
In September 2021, The Way Home Continuum of Care (CoC), our local homeless response system, received the fourth-highest award in the country -- $10,357,612.79 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) -- for the Youth Homeless Demonstration Program (YHDP). The YHDP provides our community with the funding, technical assistance, and flexibility to develop and implement a coordinated community approach to youth homelessness that matches the needs, assets, constraints, and preferences of our community stakeholders.
The goal of the YHDP is to support The Way Home in the development and implementation of a plan to prevent and end youth homelessness. A Youth Action Board (YAB) — made up of youth & young adults with lived experience of homelessness — provides strategic direction and oversight to the activities connected to the YHDP.
YHDP Training Materials
The Way Home is committed to Positive Youth Development (PYD), the belief that, given guidance and support from caring adults, all youth and young adults can grow up healthy and happy, making positive contributions to their families, schools, and communities.
PYD does not address youth primarily as problems to be solved, but rather assets to be developed.
Our community is committed to ensure that youth providers, community partners, and advocates learn how to interact with youth in a nonjudgmental way, without labeling or judging them based on their background, experiences, choices, or behaviors. This section of the YHDP webpage is to provide training materials for all youth-serving programs’ staff and interested parties to learn equitable and youth-centered best practices.
YHDP Cohorts
The cohorts shown below are sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) and focus on strategies to help YHDP programs and their staff move forward in their system-level goals outlined in the CoC's CCP. The cohorts also create space to talk with other YHDP communities about challenges, success and forward movement in their CCP, and provide a safe place for creative brainstorming about what is next in their community.
The Way Home YHDP Calendar
View the calendar below for upcoming training opportunities throughout The Way Home. Please note all trainings are ONLY available to official YHDP program partners of The Way Home and their staff. Not sure if your agency/organization is an official partner? Contact Youth Programs.
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12pm YHDP Coordinated Access Workgroup
2pm YHDP Round 4 & 5 Community Calls
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10am YHDP CA Projects Monthly Check-In
1pm YHDP Housing and Diversion Projects Monthly Check-In
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12pm YHDP All Staff Meeting
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