A nearly quarter-million-dollar grant will allow the YWCA Quad Cities to expand its reach and provide transitional living assistance for older youth facing homelessness or at risk of it. “The whole goal is to provide transitional living services for youth aged 16 to under 22,” said Julie Larson, the YWCA’s president and CEO. The YWCA, […]
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A nearly quarter-million-dollar grant will allow the YWCA Quad Cities to expand its reach and provide transitional living assistance for older youth facing homelessness or at risk of it.
“The whole goal is to provide transitional living services for youth aged 16 to under 22,” said Julie Larson, the YWCA’s president and CEO.
The YWCA, based in Rock Island, recently received a $225,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The grant, first announced in a news release by U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline, comes through the department’s Transitional Living Program for Older Homeless Youth.
“For more than 100 years, YWCA Quad Cities has played an essential role in ensuring every child has a safe place to live, learn and grow,” the congresswoman said in the release. She added that she was proud “to support them in this vital work.”
The federal program supports various projects that provide long-term residential services to homeless youth.
“It’s hard to find funding for this type of programs,” Ms. Larson said, adding that many programs concentrate on the homeless youth who are under 18. “But this is for those up to age 22, who a lot of times seem to get overlooked.”
With the grant, the YWCA now can offer financial assistance to the older youth in need of transitional housing such as a short hotel stay or a more permanent housing arrangement. She estimates the funding will allow it to serve 75 youth over the next year.
“We expect people to transition in and out of this program. Some might just need a couple nights (of expenses covered), some might be a year of housing assistance,” she added.
She said the new transitional housing program is an extension of Theplace2B, a drop-in center the YWCA opened in 2010 to do outreach to homeless youth. According to Ms. Larson, Theplace2B offers teens a place to gather, have a hot meal, get help with homework, socialize and do other activities.
It also serves “a lot of kids who are at risk of homelessness due to numerous factors in their life,” she added.
She said the grant also will cover the cost of hiring four new staff members. One target population will be pregnant and parenting teens, who may need alternative housing or other support services.
In addition to assisting with housing costs, she said YWCA staff will provide the youth with other services “to give them the tools and resources to become self-sufficient, to graduate high school or go into the trades or junior college.”
