Section
Breadcrumbs
Youth and Young Adult Homelessness
Currently there are over 6,500 youth and young adults (YYA) who are at risk or living with homelessness and/or housing insecurity in Indiana.
IHCDA seeks to identify barriers to YYA housing security. We do this by uplifting and supporting a Youth Advisory Board (YAB), seeking grant funding to assess the housing systems and to build supports needed to increase access to housing resources.
With the Youth Housing Systems Improvement grant (YHSI), awarded to IHCDA in 2024, our staff is developing and implementing a statewide needs assessment and preparing for a statewide youth symposium in September 2026. We seek advisement from many external partners, including YABs across the state, the Indiana Department of Health, Department of Education and Department of Child Services and many youth serving agencies.
For more information, contact Jeanne Hidalgo, Youth Program Manager, jhidalgo@ihcda.in.gov or Laura Drascic, ldrascic@ihcda.in.gov, Youth Program Analyst.
- Youth Homelessness Systems Improvement Grant
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced a $1.5 million award to the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority (IHCDA) that will benefit youth and young adults (YYA) who live with homelessness and housing insecurity throughout Indiana.
The Youth Homelessness System Improvement (YHSI) Grant aims to create a seamless and coordinated system of care for youth experiencing or at risk of homelessness within the Indiana Balance of State Continuum of Care (CoC) and in collaboration with the Indianapolis CoC. The grant will allow IHCDA to improve identification of youth in need and make it easier for youth to navigate available services. The grant will also make it possible to:
- Focus on systemic change by funding projects that create and build capacity for Youth Action Boards
- Collect and use data on at-risk youth and youth experiencing homelessness
- Develop strong leaders within a community and improve the coordination, communication, operation and administration of homeless assistance projects to better serve youth, including prevention and diversion strategies
- The grant application requested support for the following projects:
- Establishing viable local and state partnerships between youth focused and homelessness-focused organizations
- Improving capacity, effectiveness, and YYA leadership
- Improving the BoS CoC coordinated entry system (CES) to address youth-specific homelessness
- Improving data collection and coordination between organizations working with youth at-risk of and experiencing homelessness
For more information, contact Jeanne Hidalgo, Youth Programs Manager, at JHidalgo@ihcda.in.gov
- Statewide Trainings
Indiana Housing Basics: Building Your Future - Slide Presentation
Indiana Housing Basics: Building Your Future - Video RecordingImpacting Housing Security for Youth and Young Adults: Exploring Advocacy Tools - Slide Presentation
Impacting Housing Security for Youth and Young Adults: Exploring Advocacy Tools - Video Recording - Youth Advisory Board
Who are we?
The Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority (IHCDA), in partnership with the Indiana Balance of State Continuum of Care (BoS CoC),provides youth and young adults (YYA) the opportunity to have a voice for those experiencing housing insecurity and homelessness. The Youth Advisory Board's (YAB) mission is to create a space for youth and young adults to advocate, engage, and participate in decisions directly impacting YYA housing throughout Indiana.
Picture left to right: Brooke Smith (Region 8) Dani Montgomery (Region 8) Nish Proshun, (Region 2A)
Destiny Morgan (Region 10) and Paige Winebrenner (Region 3). - Homeless Youth Regional Program
In March 2022, the Indiana Department of Education entered a contract with Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority (IHCDA) to support the work of the McKinney Vento Liaisons in providing wrap around services to youth and young adults who live with housing insecurity. This program, the Homeless Youth Regional Program, (HYRP) was funded by the American Rescue Plan Homeless Children and Youth (ARP-HCY) grant. As ARP-HCY funds wind down, so will this program. HYRP will be sunset as of June 28, 2024.
Over the past 18 months, Navigators have helped more than 650 youth and young adults between the ages of 5-24, as well as finding and vetting over 1700 resources throughout the state. These resources will be housed on the IDOE Learning Lab platform. If you have questions or concerns, please contact Jeanne Hidalgo, Youth Program Manager.
WHO: Cross Support Systems Navigators
WHAT: “Strengthen communities by identifying youth and young adults (YYA) who are living with housing insecurity, eliminate barriers to resource access, and bridge systems that promote safe and sustainable housing.”
WHY: Every YYA in Indiana deserves access to secure, stable and sustainable housing.
HOW: Navigators connect YYA with vital resources in the community of their choice.
Navigators have worked with the public school system, service providers and community partners to bring vital resources to youth and young adults living with housing insecurity. If you are a youth or young adult who is experiencing homelessness or with housing insecurity, or have identified a youth or young adult who needs support, please contact the vetted resource list below.
*This program was made possible through American Rescue Plan-Homeless Children and Youth (ARP-HCY) federal grant funding, in collaboration with The Indiana Housing and Community Development Agency, (IHCDA) the Indiana department of Education (DOE) and the Indianapolis Continuum of Care.
- Resources
Resources
The following list of resources is presented by county using the regional map. These are wrap-around services vetted by the HYRP Navigators
IHCDA Youth Navigator Resource List
National Youth Legal Hotline
- Contact Information
Jeanne Hidalgo - Youth Program Manager - JHidalgo@ihcda.in.gov
Laura Drascic - Youth Program Analyst - LDrascic@ihcda.in.gov