Homeless+Youth+Task+Force

The 2016 Homeless Youth Needs Assessment will be published in October 2016. The next meeting of the Homeless Youth Task Force will take place in late October 2016 to prepare for the 2017 Point in Time Homeless Count and prepare for the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Project NOFA.

Guidance for the 2013 point-in-time homeless counts endorsed the methodology Sonoma County has been using to count homeless youth since 2009, and has expanded on it. As a result through the 2013 count we have garnered an even more complete picture of homeless youth, both under the age of 18 and in the 18-24 year old transition-aged group. **Fully one-third of all homeless people in Sonoma County are under the age of 25.** This includes 277 unaccompanied teens (under 18), 851 single transition-aged youth, 22 parents ages 18-24, and 260 children who are homeless with their parents (of any age).



Although the numbers are much larger than those documented in 2011, this is because for the first time, informed estimates were made (based on survey questions) of youth living in cars, tents, and abandoned buildings where they could not be seen during the street count. In fact, the data indicates the number of transition-aged youth has actually //decreased// since 2011.

The **Homeless Youth Task Force** was launched in 2011 and assessed the need for housing for the transition-aged homeless population based on earlier documentation, concluding that 195 beds were needed for this population alone. The Homeless Youth Task Force has brought together representatives from every system needed to impact youth homelessness, and is connected to the [|Cradle to Career] initiative. The group is co-chaired by Tom Bieri with Community Support Network and Debra Sanders with the Sonoma County Department of Education; to get on the mailing list contact Michael Gause, Continuum of Care Coordinator at Michael.Gause@sonoma-county.org. The notes below are out of date; new ones will be added shortly.





Slide from N[|AEH webinar on homeless youth], March 22, 2012.

Notes from the September 23, 2011 meeting:

Notes from the August 26, 2011 meeting:

Trends in youth homelessness, recorded at the convening session of the Homeless Youth Task Force, August 5, 2011.

If you wish to access documents referenced in the notes and not posted here, please contact Michael Gause, the CoC Coordinator at Michael.Gause@sonoma-county.org or at 565-1977.