This is a paid participation opportunity for youth & young adults who are experiencing or have previously experienced homelessness.
We are Jeremy Penn (she/they) and Katie Meyer Scott (she/her) from the National Homelessness Law Center (NHLC) and Aleya Jones (she/her) from True Colors United (TCU). We are responsible for the annual State Index on Youth Homelessness, which tracks over 60 youth & young adult homelessness metrics across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. We think that the Index’s metrics are outdated, technocratic, and typically lacking in value to homeless youth & young adults and service providers. To that end, we are transforming the Index to re-center it on the needs and experiences of homeless youth & young adults and service providers.
In order to redraft the Index’s metrics, we are organizing eight youth & young adult working groups, each focusing on different aspects of youth & young adult homelessness. We want each working group to have five youth & young adults with relevant lived experience, with a total of forty youth & young adults participating overall.
What is required?
Participation means committing to one Zoom call that will last about 90 minutes/an hour and a half. It will be an open-ended call, giving youth & young adults a space to share about their experiences navigating various systems with us. With permission, we would like to take notes for the purposes of our work, but these Zoom calls will not be recorded.
We are offering a stipend of up to $100 for each youth & young adult. Youth & young adults that participate will be compensated ASAP after the Zoom call. We plan to have multiple methods and forms of payment available (including PayPal, check, and cash gift cards) for participants to choose from based on their preferences/needs. Please note that receipt of the stipend does not create an employment relationship with the NHLC or TCU. Please also note that we are required by law to request a W-9 form for each youth or young adult claiming a stipend. We know that these kinds of legalities typically act as a barrier and we are committed to overcoming them. Please reach out to us with questions and/or to problem-solve for a youth or young adult who wants to participate.
We are limiting each youth & young adult who participates to only one working group in order to maximize the number of youth & young adults who can participate. And we have themed the working groups because we want the Index to track metrics that are relevant to all of these lived experiences, but we reject putting youth & young adults into boxes. We do not expect these discussions to rigidly conform to the working group’s theme. We invite – in fact, we encourage – youth & young adults to participate with us as their full selves, even and especially when they fit into more than one of the working groups. For ease of organizing the working groups, we invite youth & young adults who want to participate to list and/or rank the working groups that they are interested in.
Who are we looking for?
To youth & young adults who want to work with us: Are you worried that you don’t qualify to participate? These working groups are open to all youth & young adults under the age of 30 who are experiencing or have previously experienced homelessness. If you are not certain whether you qualify for a particular group, we welcome you to ask us. *Content warning: the following descriptions name and briefly discuss criminal, immigration, child welfare/protection, and foster care systems, and domestic violence/abuse.
Here are our inclusion guidelines for the working groups:
- System-impacted youth & young adults: inclusive of experiences with criminal, immigration, child welfare/protective services, and foster care systems; inclusive of those who are impacted by these systems impacting a family member (for example, a youth or young adult whose parent was/is incarcerated)
- Black and brown youth & young adults: for youth & young adults of color who identify as black and/or brown
- Indigenous youth & young adults: includes those who do not live on a reservation; includes those who are not members of a recognized tribe
- Undocumented youth & young adults: for youth & young adults without legal status
- Trans, nonbinary, & intersex youth & young adults: inclusive of all non-cisgender identities and expressions; includes those who are intersex and/or have differences in sex development
- Youth & young adults with disabilities: inclusive of all disabilities, including but not limited to physical, mental, and psychological disabilities
- Parenting youth & young adults: for youth & young adults who are themselves parents; inclusive of those who do not have physical and/or legal custody of their children
- Youth who experience/have experienced domestic violence/abuse: inclusive of all forms of domestic violence, including but not limited to physical, verbal, emotional, and sexual violence/abuse; inclusive of violence/abuse committed by any/all member(s) of the household, regardless of their familial relationship to the youth/young adult
Interested youth & young adults should contact us by Monday, April 17th and include which working group(s) they are interested in, and which of the provided day/time options they prefer.
We welcome you to ask us any questions that you may have.
You can reach us by emailing Jeremy (she/they): jpenn@homelesslaw.org
Thank you to the amazing groups of participants!
Stay tuned for more on the updated State Index on Youth Homelessness!
Indigenous Y&YA:
*This group is in the process of being rescheduled*
Undocumented Y&YA:
FILLED
Black & Brown Y&YA:
FILLED
Y&YA w/Disabilities:
FILLED
Parenting Y&YA:
FILLED
Y&YA w/Experience w/Domestic Abuse:
FILLED
System-Impacted Y&YA:
FILLED
Trans, Nonbinary & Intersex Y&YA:
FILLED
