New Diversion program for unaccompanied minors will be first in the nation
Oasis Center is developing two new programs to address youth and young adult homelessness in Nashville with a $3.5-million two-year grant the community received last year from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Mayor David Briley, who attended the announcement of the new youth programs at Oasis Center on Tuesday, thanked the community partners who came together to create a comprehensive effort to end youth and young adult homelessness in Nashville.
“No one should live on the streets – especially children and youth,” said Mayor Briley. “The Coordinated Community Plan found that there are more than 1,000 unaccompanied young people under the age of 25 experiencing homelessness in Nashville on an annual basis, and more than 300 of them are minors. This group of providers came together and created a strategic plan that will provide relief for this difficult reality. These two programs will go a long way towards our goal of ending youth homelessness.”
Mark Dunkerley, Chief Strategy Officer of Oasis Center, said the grant funding will be used for two new youth programs:
- $1,072,688 each year will be used to start a rapid re-housing program to house 70 young adults in Nashville ages 18-24. This rapid re-housing program will offer housing location, rental and move-in assistance, case management, clinical counseling, and other wraparound services to young people.
- $639,000 each year will be used to help 230 young people ages 24 and under quickly resolve their housing crises and divert them from homelessness. This program will rely on strong partnerships with Metro Nashville Public Schools, the Department of Children’s Services, and Nashville Juvenile Court when serving youth under age 18, with a focus on family reunification.
Both programs are guided by the principles of immediate access to housing with no preconditions, youth choice, Positive Youth Development, and trauma-informed care.
“This is an amazing opportunity for youth and young adults who are experiencing homelessness. This is by far the biggest opportunity we have had in our 30+ years of serving this population at Oasis.” Dunkerley said. “For far too long, Nashville has lacked the resources necessary to really serve youth effectively. While these programs alone won’t solve youth homelessness, they certainly get the ball rolling.”
Oasis Center is a strong leader on youth development in our community and was the sole bidder for the grant, which is administered by the Homeless Impact Division of Metro Social Services.
Judith Tackett, director of the Homeless Impact Division, said the projects were developed through a huge community effort over the past year, which involved input from dozens of local nonprofits and representatives from state government.
“About two dozen community providers have come together on a regular basis over the past year to develop a comprehensive Coordinated Community Plan to outline what Nashville has to do to end youth and young adult homelessness,” Tackett said. “The new programs are a result of this community work and partners are continuing to work on other aspects of the Coordinated Community Plan such as a focus on Juvenile Court diversion, aging out from foster care, and higher education.”
One key aspect of the collaboration was the creation of a Youth Advisory Board consisting of 10 young adults with lived experiences who advise and co-lead the local community efforts.
Tackett said the Homeless Impact Division hired a community coordinator to assist in the efforts during the first two years of the implementation of the plan. While the $3.5 million for the first two years is a start, the way the community developed the proposal will ensure that if Nashville continues its collaborative approach, Nashville’s community will have a chance to continue to receive approximately $1.5 million in federal grants per year for youth and young adult programming after 2021.
The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced the $3.5-million, two-year grant last July with a celebration at Oasis Center. That grant provided intensive technical assistance to develop a comprehensive plan to end homelessness for youth and young adults ages 24 and under.
The Coordinated Community Plan is available on the Homeless Impact Division's Youth Homelessness page.
Some of the main partners include:
Oasis Center, Metro Homeless Impact Division, Youth Action Board, Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency, Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, Metro Nashville Public Schools, Nashville Juvenile Court, Room in the Inn, Park Center, Crossroads Campus, Nashville Launch Pad, Monroe Harding, Mental Health Cooperative, Urban Housing Solutions, Vanderbilt University, etc.