Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP)

In September 2023, The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) came to Tampa and announced the award of the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) grant funding for the Tampa/Hillsborough County Continuum of Care (FL-501). The 2-year award of $4,644,758 to the Tampa Hillsborough Homeless Initiative (THHI), on behalf of the community, is to support our community in the development and implementation of a coordinated community approach to preventing and ending youth homelessness- specifically for unaccompanied (UAY) and parenting youth (PY), ages 16 to 24, that are experiencing homelessness (living on the streets, in an emergency shelter [Cat 1] and/or fleeing domestic violence [Cat 4] and/or housing instability (couch surfing, in motels they pay for [Cat 2]). 

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The Tampa/Hillsborough County Youth Action Board (YAB), in collaboration with community partners, has approved the following vision statement for the CoC youth system. 

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Our shared vision is that youth and young adult homelessness in Tampa-Hillsborough County is rare, brief, and nonrecurring. Every young person will feel seen and affirmed, with equitable and quick access to coordinated housing and supports that are transparent and easy to navigate. We will center youth choice and autonomy in the design and provision of low-barrier housing options, as well as flexible individualized supports and connections related to employment, education, childcare, physical and behavioral healthcare, transportation, and fostering positive relationships.

 

 

Coordinated Community Plan (CCP) – Following the award announcement, THHI alongside community partners, youth with lived experience and HUD-provided technical assistance advisors (TA), began developing the HUD required Coordinated Community Plan (CCP), establishing our coordinated community approach.  After nearly a year of meetings, input sessions, HUD trainings / webinars and learning, the CCP is ready to be implemented in our community.  This opportunity to develop and implement an effective and impactful youth homelessness response system has only been awarded to 116 communities in the nation and will go a long way to making homelessness among youth and young adults rare, brief, and non-recurring.

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This Coordinated Community Plan (CCP) for the Tampa-Hillsborough Community, under the Tampa/Hillsborough County Continuum of Care (FL-501) is our coordinated community response to make homelessness among unaccompanied youth and young adults (YYA) experiencing homelessness or housing instability rare, brief, and non-recurring.

 

This plan was developed over the past several months with input and direction from:

 

• The Youth Action Board (YAB)

• YHDP planning team

• YHDP core team

 

This plan includes the projects and services that YYA with lived experience of homelessness have shared are needed to assist other YYA experiencing homelessness and housing instability achieve and maintain permanent housing.

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