SPOKANE, Wash. – On any given day in Washington State, about 14,000 youth and young adults experience unaccompanied homelessness. The Office of Homeless Youth is designing a new pilot program that would send cash directly to young people experiencing housing insecurity.
An event asking young people who have experienced homelessness or housing instability to offer their input on the proposed pilot will take place at the Downtown Spokane Library on Thursday. Those who offer their expertise will be paid $135, with registration available online.
Washington’s Department of Commerce, which oversees the Office of Homeless Youth, says that the program designers hope to build a direct cash transfers framework that efficiently responds to the needs of housing insecure young people.
Housing is a particularly complicated issue for policy experts, because it is often an intersectional justice issue. While youth housing insecurity decreased by 40% in Washington 2016 to 2022, it is still a persistent problem. About 28% of LGBTQ+ youth have experienced housing insecurity according to The Trevor Project, with Indigenous youth also experiencing higher rates of homelessness.
Office of Homeless Youth experts published a 2024 Executive Summary highlighting the need for programs supporting LGBTQ+, Indigenous and pregnant youth at higher risks of losing access to housing. The new pilot program is a part of Washington’s response to both youth homelessness and the complex network of issues that lead to housing insecurity.
“Help ensure that this new program reflects the needs of young people; be in community with other folks who’ve experienced housing instability,” a Department of Commerce media statement said.
