$3.5M to address youth homelessness headed to Pierce County, where shelter options few
Pierce County has been awarded $3.5 million from the federal government to fund services for youth and young adults experiencing homelessness.
The funding comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP), which supports housing solutions such as rapid re-housing, permanent supportive housing, transitional housing and host homes to mitigate youth homelessness.
Pierce County is one of 14 communities across the country to receive funding from the YHDP program and the only county in Washington to receive any of the $72 million announced by HUD at the end of October.
According to Pierce County, the most recent annual survey of those living unhoused in the region found roughly 500 youth and young adults experiencing homelessness in the county. Almost 300 of them were under the age of 18.
Tacoma Public Schools (TPS) is recognized to have the highest number of McKinney-Vento students in the state. The McKinney-Vento Act defines homeless children as “individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.”
According to TPS spokesperson Kathryn McCarthy, the district served 2,685 students through McKinney-Vento programming during the 2023-2024 school year. Of those, 414 were considered “unaccompanied youth.”
Homeless service providers, including Steve Decker, CEO for Family Promise of Pierce County, have reported that the county lacks shelter options for families and children to meet the high demand of youth homelessness.
According to a statement from Pierce County’s Human Services Department, homeless youth “are more likely to experience significant mental health issues, have an increased risk of substance abuse and be vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.”
Pierce County’s Human Services partnered with the Pierce County Youth Action Board to complete the application, leaning on the young people’s experiences and expertise. The Youth Action Board is comprised of advocates and youth and young adults with who have experienced homelessness and provides oversight on projects that impact youth and young adults.
“Our partnership with the Youth Action Board brought lived experience and great creativity to our application,” Human Services director Heather Moss said in a press release statement. “This funding will bring more services to more young people and allow us to address disparities among youth.”
Pierce County Human Services said the next step is to work with the Youth Action Board to develop a plan to determine what services the new money will fund.
Human Services spokesperson Kari Moore told The News Tribune some programs that benefit youth and could be funded include permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, street outreach to unhoused youth and homeless diversion programs in connection with Coordinated Entry.
