Youth Access to Housing and Services to End Homelessness Act (p. 13)

“Street outreach program studies found that over half of unhoused youth who want to access shelter and services are told they are unavailable. As a result, the average unhoused young person spends nearly two years living on the street. But it doesn’t have to be this way. There are a number of harm-reduction measures that state legislatures can pass right away to alleviate this acute issue. Unaccompanied homeless youth need to be able to consent to emergency shelter and related services without the fear of being returned to abusive homes or being entangled in the child welfare or juvenile legal system.”

Emancipation of Minors Act (p. 16)

“[F]or youth who have demonstrated that they have the ability to manage their own finances and care, there should be an accessible process for emancipation. Of course, legal reform strategies for making shelter and some housing more accessible to unhoused youth are not by any means a substitute for the transformational strategy of expanding the infrastructure of affordable housing and increasing the availability of housing assistance so that all who need it can access it, by right.”

“On the macro level, long-term advocacy efforts should focus on a universal right to housing and increasing appropriations for youth housing. In the short term, however, advocates can push for a state-level right to housing for minors. Prioritizing minors in the right to housing will benefit some families as well. Most importantly, it will ensure that any unaccompanied homeless youth has an affirmative right to housing, functionally ending homelessness for youth under age 18.”

Consent for Services

Youth Access to Housing and Services to End Homelessness Act (p. 13)

“Street outreach program studies found that over half of unhoused youth who want to access shelter and services are told they are unavailable. As a result, the average unhoused young person spends nearly two years living on the street. But it doesn’t have to be this way. There are a number of harm-reduction measures that state legislatures can pass right away to alleviate this acute issue. Unaccompanied homeless youth need to be able to consent to emergency shelter and related services without the fear of being returned to abusive homes or being entangled in the child welfare or juvenile legal system.”

Emancipation of Minors Act (p. 16)

“[F]or youth who have demonstrated that they have the ability to manage their own finances and care, there should be an accessible process for emancipation. Of course, legal reform strategies for making shelter and some housing more accessible to unhoused youth are not by any means a substitute for the transformational strategy of expanding the infrastructure of affordable housing and increasing the availability of housing assistance so that all who need it can access it, by right.”

“On the macro level, long-term advocacy efforts should focus on a universal right to housing and increasing appropriations for youth housing. In the short term, however, advocates can push for a state-level right to housing for minors. Prioritizing minors in the right to housing will benefit some families as well. Most importantly, it will ensure that any unaccompanied homeless youth has an affirmative right to housing, functionally ending homelessness for youth under age 18.”