Milwaukee Wins $3 Million To Fight Youth Homelessness
Continuum of Care partners will rely on youth input for how funding will be spent.
HUD regional administrator Diane Shelly, HUD principal deputy assistant secretary Marion McFadden, Mayor Cavalier Johnson, Walker’s Point Youth and Family Center executive director Audra O’Connell and Pathfinders CEO Tim Baack pose with youth during a check presentation ceremony. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
A coalition of organizations and government agencies working to end homelessness scored a major win Wednesday.
Representatives from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) came to Milwaukee to deliver the group, known as the Milwaukee Continuum of Care, a $3 million check to advance their efforts to address youth homelessness.
“I am so incredibly inspired by the work of Pathfinders,” said HUD principal deputy assistant secretary Marion McFadden. “It is a visit that is going to stick with me.” Immediately before the announcement, McFadden, HUD regional administrator Diane Shelley, and others met with youth served by Pathfinders, a nonprofit directly serving youth experiencing or at-risk of homelessness.
Using a youth action board, the Continuum intends to engage youth from different backgrounds to determine how the funding should be allocated. It is expected that the funding will ultimately be split among multiple partners with a shared vision of addressing youth homelessness.
“It could look entirely different than anything we have done before,” said Walker’s Point Youth and Family Center executive director Audra O’Connell.
Both O’Connell and Pathfinders CEO Tim Baack said engagement through the youth action board was critical.
“It embeds young people in the decision-making process and for us, as an organization, that’s what changes the game,” said Baack. “There is a lot of work to do. We are better positioned to do it. We know there are more resources still needed to really end youth and young adult homelessness.” Pathfinders estimates that 15,000 Milwaukee residents ages 25 and younger experience homelessness annually, with hundreds confronting the issue on any given night.
Mayor Cavalier Johnson thanked the federal government for the support and the organizations for their collaboration.
“You are doing incredible work that we will share with other communities,” said McFadden. “And we ask that you also listen to those other communities.”
The funding comes from HUD’s Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YDHP) and aims to support a wide variety of housing types, including permanent supportive housing, transition housing and rapid rehousing. HUD announced $60.3 million in awards Wednesday to 16 communities, and has now awarded $440 million through YDHP.
“Every young person in our country deserves a safe place to call home. Connecting homeless youth with appropriate, targeted housing and services will make an enormous difference in their lives,” said HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge in a statement. “These federal funds will support efforts in communities across the county to provide vulnerable young people with the secure, stable, and supportive housing they urgently need.”
McFadden praised the city’s commitment to a “Housing First” model, an approach that involves trying to get an individual into long-term housing so that a source of stability can be established while wrap-around services are provided.
The event was held at Pathfinders’ headquarters, 4200 N. Holton St.
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