Homeless Youth Street Outreach and Mentoring (Anne Arundel FY18) - Annual
Better Off: % of youth served reporting they have access to necessary services based on self-assessment (unduplicated) - Annual
Current Value
69%
Definition
Story Behind the Curve
The original vendor for this program brought both a formerly homeless youth to the staff for outreach purposes - critical to this work - but also significant resources of their own to serve the needs of homeless youth on the street. This included a mobile unit with bathrooms, showers, and a pantry with food, clothing, shoes and hygiene items. In FY19 the original vendor shifted their focus away from serving the homeless and no longer wanted to operate this program. While we were able to transition it to a new vendor, it became increasingly clear over the course of the year that the outreach was not nearly as effective without access to the mobile unit and the program staff struggled to manage the mentoring cohort effectively. For these reasons we determined that the street outreach program would not be continued into FY20.
Partners
- The Partnership's System of Care program
- The Peak Youth Services
- Community of Hope
- Anne Arundel County Public Libraries
- DSS
- DJS
- A.A. Co. Public Schools
- A.A. Co. Health Department
- A.A. Co. Mental Health Agency
- Crisis Response
- Transformation Center
- CREG Cares
- A.A. Co. Homeless Coalition
- Homeless Youth Work Group (including Youth Reach team)
- McKinney Vinto Steering Committee
What Works
- Working with community partners like the local library to find pockets in the community where unaccompanied homeless youth are likely to be found
- Using mobile van with showers & pantry to provide instant service to youth who are often distrustful of service systems to show an immediate ability to meet their needs
- A mix of experienced outreach staff with younger outreach workers who are closer to peers with UHY - particularly those with lived experience who can better relate to the needs and circumstances of the youth they are seeking to engage with
- Leveraging partnership with Junior League to provide strong mentoring relationships for youth enrolled in the cohort
- Partnership with Systems of Care to ensure basic needs for the youth are met
- Coordinating services with other programs serving UHY to ensure broad reach, deep level of service provision, and reduction in overlap in service
Action Plan
Program closed at the conclusion of FY19.
Data Discussion
Measurement Tool Used
Research Agenda
Clear Impact Suite is an easy-to-use, web-based software platform that helps your staff collaborate with external stakeholders and community partners by utilizing the combination of data collection, performance reporting, and program planning.