YHDP Background

Anchor Community Initiative (ACI)

In 2017 a 100-day challenge to house 100 youth and young adults in Spokane. This effort grew into a collaborative effort to end youth and young adult (YYA) homelessness. During the 100-day challenge, our community housed 109 youth and young adults, 43 of those housed were minors.

Following the success of the 100-day challenge, Spokane County United Way started the Anchor Community Initiative (ACI) in partnership with A Way Home Washington and the City of Spokane. United Way's Anchor Community Initiative is working to reduce and end YYA (ages 12-24) homelessness in Spokane County.

In 2019 ACI started by creating a comprehensive list of every person ages 12 to 24 in Spokane County experiencing homelessness. Efforts focused on partnering with the Spokane Youth Advisory Board (YAB), an advocacy group of young people with lived experience with homelessness and housing instability. The ACI and YAB worked together to identify ways to improve the programs and services for young people.

Spokane has become the first community in Washington state to measurably and sustainably reduce youth and young adult (YYA) homelessness as a part of A Way Home Washington’s Anchor Community Initiative. In December 2020, there were 270 YYA actively experiencing homelessness, including youth living unsheltered. By June 2021, the number had dropped to 217.

Between September 2020 and June 2021, Spokane decreased unsheltered YYA homelessness by over 50%.

Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP)

The Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) is an initiative designed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to reduce the number of youths experiencing homelessness. The goal of the YHDP is to support selected communities, including rural, suburban, and urban areas across the United States, in the development and implementation of a coordinated community approach to preventing and ending youth homelessness. Additionally, HUD is committed to sharing the experience of YHDP communities and mobilizing communities around the country toward the same end.

In 2021 the HUD selected the Spokane community to participate in the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP). As a part of that effort, the HUD program requires a Coordinated Community Plan. As a part of this initiative, our community commits to authentic collaboration with youth and young adults (YYA) who have lived experience of homelessness through a Youth Action Board. In response to this opportunity, the City of Spokane/Spokane County Regional Continuum of Care (CoC) worked with community partners to put forth a Coordinated Community Plan for Spokane, which identified the Spokane Youth Advisory Board for the role of Youth Action Board.