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6.2. SR 10-06-2014 �i EOty lk Request for Action River To Item Number Mayor and City Council 6.2 Agenda Section Meeting Date Prepared by Presentations,Awards October 6, 2014 Cal Portner, City Administrator and Recognition Item Description Reviewed by Open Doors For Youth Presentation Reviewed by Action Requested Receive information,no action requested. Background/Discussion Cheryl Wold is the chair of a community-wide effort to address the issue of homeless young people, ages 16-21,in the Elk River area. Their goal is the establishment of a drop-in resource center where homeless youth can go to get immediate needs met and work on longer-term solutions. They are currently developing partnerships with community organizations, the school district and Sherburne County Social Services. Ms. Wold would like a few moments to discuss her organization,goals, community needs, and seek input and direction for the establishment of a local center. Financial Impact N/A Attachments ■ Open Doors For Youth White Paper p 0 W I R I I a ATURE Open Doors for Youth A community response to addressing youth homeiessness in our orea 7ham Skua n Young peopde experiencing homeiessness are inheranVy good kids to whom bad things have happened. Homelessness is the harsh and unfair reality of over 2,500 young people (16-21) in Minnesota each night. Pmagine their circumstances. You are 17, 18 or 19.You cannot live at home with your family. Maybe it wasn't a safe place to be, so you had to leave. Maybe your family lost their home, and as the oldest you were expected to find your own housing. Maybe you were kicked out when you told your family you identified as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. Or maybe you were removed from your home as a child and have lived in a number of foster care homes ever since. Whatever the cause, the fact is that you are young, you are homeless and you are vulnerable. To survive, you have tried couch-hopping among friends or acquaintances, living in your car, sleeping in empty buildings or tenting in the woods. But you are not consistently safe with little stability. You are tired and it's really hard to muster the energy needed to go to school or work. You may even have had to trade sex for shelter, money or food. Mnk we don'T have any homeless youth in Ellis Mover— think again! Just because you do not see them on street corners does not mean they aren't here. Homeless youth are different from homeless adults. They will go to great lengths to keep their homeless situation hidden from their peers. They are often struggling alone, without supportive adults or a sense of belonging. They may be "invisible" to the average citizen, but local law enforcement, school and social service personnel will tell you homeless youth do exist in our community—we just don't have an accurate count. Indeed, our homeless young people have been showing up and trying to access help at the family homeless shelter in town and the local food shelf. Most existing programs are not designed to address the needs of young people ages 16-21 who are on their own and without stable housing. Currently the best we offer is advice to seek help elsewhere, perhaps Anoka or Minneapolis. (,And indeed Elk River youth are showing up at Hope 4 Youth, a drop-in center in Anoka). This is in sharp contrast to expert recommendations to keep the homeless young person in their home community where they have friends, connections and familiarity. Open Dooms for Youth —A Cowry un§ty Response Communities across Minnesota are awakening to the reality of youth homelessness. Innovative programs have been operating for over twenty years in the Metro area. New programs are being developed based upon these successes. Here in Elk River, an effort is underway to locally meet the needs of our youth experiencing homelessness, through the establishment of a drop-in resource center, named Open Doors for Youth. Drop-in centers provide the opportunity for youth to access both immediate goods and services and more intensive services that lead to reintegration with the community. Our History In 2011, a small group of women from Union Congregational Church, United Church of Christ in Elk River began organizing charity drives benefitting Avenues for Homeless Youth located in North Minneapolis. Avenues provides transitional housing with support services to over 150 homeless youth, ages 16-21, each year. Donated supplies included pillows, hygiene products, household goods, interview clothing and more. As this partnership grew, their understanding of the tragic scope and ramifications of youth homelessness deepened. The numbers of Minnesota homeless young people were staggering, and continuing to increase.This, and the somber fact that there were only 108 shelter beds for youth in the entire state. Alarmed by the absence of housing and resources for homeless youth in our community, this core group of women began looking for local solutions. Originally the plan was to partner with Avenues in to develop a host home program in the Elk River area. However, the urgency to provide basic needs for potentially greater numbers of youths soon became apparent. After visiting Minnesota communities who had established successful programs using a drop-in resource center model, decisions were made to: 1. homeless. , . outh Pages 16 thru 211 within the ISD 728 Elk Establish_.is_ a drop-in resource center for , , ,Y___. River Area School District communities. This would align with expert advice to keep homeless youth in their own community and provide needed goods, services and opportunities. A community facility allows the young person to directly seek assistance and resources. 2. Expand this project to a community wide effort rather than a church based project.To be successful, partnerships with existing programs and services need to be developed and perhaps broadened. New programs will need to be developed if none currently exist. Community collaboration is essential. Our core team is now comprised of volunteer community members who are passionate about addressing youth homelessness in our community. Efforts are currently underway to identify and source needed goods and services, define policies and procedures, network with community organizations, and locate an appropriate facility. Open Doors for Youth VISION Empowering youth experiencing homelessness to shape their futures as self-sufficient and thriving young adults. MISSION To provide a safe place where youth (ages 16 thru 21) experiencing homelessness can acquire basic needs and resources to become self-sufficient. CORE VALUES/CONCEPTS We will mobilize the community to address youth homelessness and housing instability through advocacy and education. We will partner with local organizations, services, government entities and volunteers to meet the needs of homeless youth. We will assist youth in setting goals, pursuing creative solutions and removing barriers to self- sufficiency without judgment. We believe in our young clients and will nurture potential, promote dignity and support bold steps by all. Programs for Youth Open Doors for Youth will offer a safe and welcoming site for youth to begin developing trust and self- reliance. We realize that the young people entering our doors very likely have experienced serious adversity and trauma. They all have unique needs, experiences, abilities and aspirations. Our programs are youth-centered. We will guide and support them as they develop their personal goals and plans for moving forward. Our intention is to offer the following needed goods and services. Immediate needs: • clothing • access to food support (food shelf) • on-site meal • help with transportation (gas cards, rides) • assistance in finding overnight shelter • computer and internet access • laundry and shower facilities • sleeping bags and pillows • hygiene supplies • a safe, supportive place to relax or work Services: • case management • medical and mental health support • legal assistance • education and employment support • assistance in securing stable housing • tutoring • independent living skills training • empowerment activities Program Philosophy From the moment youth walk into Open Doors for Youth, our interaction with them will be guided by the following philosophy and principles. Nine evidence-based, guiding principles to help youth overcome homelessness The principles begin with the perspective that youth are on a journey; all of our interactions with youth are filtered through that journey perspective. This means we must be trauma-informed, non judgmental and work to reduce harm. By holding these principles, we can build a trusting relationship that allows us to focus on youths'strengths and opportunities for positive development. Through all of this, we approach youth as whole beings through o youth focused collaborative system of support. Journey Oriented: Interact with youth to help them understand the interconnectedness of past, present, and future as they decide where they want to go and how to get there. Trauma-Informed: Recognize that most homeless youth have experienced trauma; build relationships, responses, and services on that knowledge. Non-Judgmental: Interact with youth without labeling or judging them on the basis of background, experiences, choices, or behaviors. Harm Reduction: Contain the effects of risky behavior in the short-term and seek to reduce its effects in the long-term. Trusting Youth-Adult Relationships: Build relationships by interacting with youth in an honest, dependable, authentic, caring and supportive way. Strengths-Based: Start with and build upon the skills, strengths, and positive characteristics of each youth. Positive Youth Development: Provide opportunities for youth to build a sense of competency, usefulness, belonging, and power. Holistic: Engage youth in a manner that recognizes that mental, physical, spiritual, and social health are interconnected and interrelated. Collaboration: Establish a principles-based, youth-focused system of support that integrates practices, procedures, and services within and across agencies, systems, and policies. From:Nine evidence-based, guiding principles to help youth overcome homelessness. Prepared by Nara F. Murphy, PhD and the Homeless Youth Collaborative on Developmental Evaluation,Supported by the Otto Bremer Foundation Open Doors for Youth Prospectus Get the basics pulled together and establish the facility in your community. Start small and listen to the needs of your youth. —advice from Oasis and Hope 4 Youth First Year of Operation • Secure facility that is a match for both youth and community. (Facility open Monday-Friday 12-6; drop-in hours 2-6) • Partner with Sherburne County Area United Way as our fiscal agent. • Cover expenses through local donations from individuals, businesses and organizations Anticipated: Liability Insurance 1,300 Telephone/Internet 1,200 Computers/software 2,300 Staff Development 1,000 Office/administration 1,700 7,500 Rent and Utilities ??? • Train volunteers to staff the program (Training through Ambit and YIPA). Continue to recruit new volunteers. • Partner with community to collect "immediate need supplies" for youth (clothing, meals, survival bags, gas/gift cards,food items, hygiene supplies, etc) • Establish essential service/referral links with local providers • Develop networks with School District 728 school personnel and local law enforcement to identify and link homeless youth to Open Doors. • Listen to the needs of our clients and continue to evaluate and revise. • Raise community awareness of youth homelessness Second Year of Operation In addition to our ongoing first year activities... • Continue to listen to the needs of our clients and evaluate and revise as needed. • Become a 501c3 nonprofit organization. • In addition to donations, develop fundraising events and apply for grant funding. First hire will be an executive director. Second hire will be a case manager. • Explore the possibility of engaging a VISTA staff person to work on capacity building Open Doors for Youth Leadership Team Cheryl Wald ciwold262gmail.com 763-241-0199 Team Chair Marilyn Olson imeeolson @aol.com 763-241-9122 Committee Chair, Basic Needs Cindy Ley kcley9l @msn.com 763-274-1654 Committee Chair, Support Services Laurie Lang lauriewayne2hughes.net 763-441-4690 Committee Chair, Advocacy & Outreach LuAnn Suilmann ltsuilmann@gmail.com 763-441- 7574 Committee Chair, Structure & Organization We would like to acknowledge the following organizations for theirsupport and guidance. Avenues for Homeless Youth, Minneapolis MN Oasis for Youth, Bloomington MN Hope 4 Youth, Anoka MN Youth Homelessness References Defining Homeless The federal McKinney-Vento Act defines homeless children as "individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence." The act provides examples of children who would fall under this definition: • Children and youth sharing housing due to loss of housing, economic hardship or a similar reason • Children and youth living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camp grounds due to lack of alternative accommodations • Children and youth living in emergency or transitional shelters • Children and youth abandoned in hospitals • Children and youth awaiting foster care placement • Children and youth whose primary nighttime residence is not ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation (e.g. park benches, etc) • Children and youth living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations Wilder Research (www.wilder.org/homelessness Through its triennial statewide study and ongoing shelter system use reports, Wilder Research provides the most current and comprehensive information and data on homelessness in Minnesota. Some findings on homeless youth from the 2012 study: • 95% of homeless youth 17 and younger attend school on a daily basis. 55% of homeless youth are female • 60% of youth sleep outside • 55% of homeless youth have been abused or neglected • 21%of homeless youth have been attacked or beaten while homeless • 52% of homeless youth have serious mental illness with depression being most common • 40% of youth identified as homeless were found outside the Twin Cities in greater MN From Hope 4 Youth Drop-in Center in Anoka: (www.hope4youthmn.org) • 400 different youths entering the doors in first 18 months (March 2013 to present) • 3,900 duplicated visits by youth in first 18 months • Average age of youth utilizing center is 19 • 2013 summer daily average was 15 youth, this summer, 2014, averaging 25 youth per day