New Hampshire will receive more than $2 million in grant funding to address youth homelessness across the state thanks to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.
In a news release this week, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services announced new efforts to prevent and end youth homelessness.
The grant will be used in partnership with New Hampshire’s Youth Success Project, which is a board of young people in the state who have experienced homelessness before turning 25. The board supports youth advocacy on housing instability.
Nationwide, Continuum of Care programs enable a community wide commitment to ending homelessness in an area. In the Concord area, the Continuum of Care region is called the Balance of State, which includes all geographical areas outside of Manchester and Nashua.
The new funding will support the Coordinated Community Plan, an action plan to address homelessness, for the Balance of State Continuum of Care.
The Youth Success Project has already worked alongside the DHHS Bureau of Housing Support in creating the Coordinated Community Plan to include their perspective as previously homeless youth. This work began in the fall of 2021.
“It was empowering to be able to be a part of this process and have a voice in how the money will be spent to better the lives of youth facing housing instability,” said Maddison Lemay, a YSP leader, in a news release.
The funding will support the implementation of the plan, which includes project proposals like strengthening the Homelessness Management Information System to include specific data points about youth populations.
In addition to supporting the action plan, nonprofit organizations that provide housing services, like Waypoint and the Tri-County Community Action Partnership, among others, will also receive funding.
These organizations provide housing and assistance to youth experiencing homelessness and the new funding will further support the development and maintenance of service.
“Every youth in New Hampshire should have access to safe, stable housing and this is a tremendous step in the right direction,” said Lori Shibinette, the DHHS Commissioner. “This critical funding will allow us to continue our work with community partners and youth with lived experience to identify the barriers to securing housing for our youth, and implement plans in our communities that address them head-on.”