Latest news with #RunawayandHomelessYouthAct
The Hill
14-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Death by deadline: Trump's HHS is making it impossible to protect homeless youth
Across the country, community-based organizations protecting youths experiencing homelessness are reeling. On July 9, the Family and Youth Services Bureau at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released three of its long-awaited grant applications for the core programs under the federal Runaway and Homeless Youth Act: Transitional Living Programs, Maternity Group Homes and Basic Center Programs. These programs support thousands of youth annually through emergency shelter, transitional housing and supportive services for youth, young adults and young parents. But this year's grant cycle is not just business as usual. Providers have been given just 14 days — instead of the standard 60 — to apply. That's a 77 percent reduction in time for one of the most complex and essential federal grant programs serving young people. This deadline isn't just unreasonable — it puts hundreds of youth-serving programs at risk of losing their funding. Organizations are dropping everything to scramble through a needlessly rushed application process with no advance notice, no technical assistance, and no accommodations for the new and extremely demanding requirements. Many organizations' grants are set to expire on Sept. 30. For many, losing their funding means losing their programs. If this happens, tens of thousands of youth could lose access to life-saving support. 'This compressed timeline is devastating,' Catherine Hummel, executive director of DreamTree Project in Taos, N.M., tells me. 'Like many nonprofits, our personnel are responsible for operations along with writing grants, which means that essential operations will suffer while focusing on this application. We are unsure if we will be able to submit a complete application on time.' The new grant applications include many complicated changes to previous years' grant awards, not the least of which is the elimination of the Street Outreach Program as a standalone grant. This program was the only federal program solely focused on preventing the sexual exploitation, trafficking and abuse of runaway and homeless youth. It funded trained outreach workers who met youth where they are — in parking lots, gas stations, parks and drop-in centers — to build trust and connect them to safety. At least one in five youths experiencing homelessness are also trafficked for sex, labor or both, making the targeted work of street outreach both compassionate and life-saving. Outreach is a specialized, relationship-based service. Not every provider has the capacity, infrastructure or partnerships to deliver it effectively. But under the new grant applications, street outreach activities must be integrated into transitional living programs and maternity group homes. This structural change, dropped with no guidance or forewarning, is a massive shift in the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act's framework and of the Family and Youth Services Bureau's interpretation of the statute. It imposes heavy new administrative burdens on transitional living or maternity group home providers who don't already conduct outreach (which is many), including hiring dedicated, full-time outreach staff; preparing and implementing protocol for street outreach; and producing new Memoranda of Understanding with law enforcement agencies and outside, age-appropriate shelters. Remember, providers have just 14 days to deliver all of this. The new law enforcement memoranda requirement for applicants is especially troubling. These agreements aren't simple, one-page forms — they require relationship-building, intense collaboration, data-sharing terms, joint training plans, and confidentiality protections that must comply with federal law (34 USC §11275). Acquiring the necessary memoranda typically takes months — not only to plan and draft them, but also to have them reviewed by legal professionals. Rushing this process introduces serious compliance risks. The administration has also introduced an inappropriate and ideologically-driven requirement into grant applications: All programs must provide education, including to minors, emphasizing the merits of marriage for long-term economic success and well-being. This misguided requirement diverts time and resources away from the core services of housing, education, employment and health and raises legitimate concerns about government overreach. All of these changes fly in the face of the bipartisan support that the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act has enjoyed since its enactment in 1974. Just last month, Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Reps. Don Bacon (R-Neb,.) and Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.) introduced legislation to reauthorize the act and preserve the Street Outreach Program as a standalone grant. Congress understands what this administration seems to have forgotten: good youth services take time, partnership and care — not rushed bureaucracy and ideology. Let's be clear: These changes are not about efficiency or accountability. They reflect a harmful and deliberate choice that disregards the realities of frontline work and the experiences youth face every day. Our young people experiencing homelessness deserve better than rushed timelines, ideological mandates and impossible expectations. And the people who serve them deserve the time, clarity and respect to do their jobs well. The stakes are too high to allow this process to go unchecked. Darla Bardine is executive director of the National Network for Youth.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Utah homeless advocates worry about loss of federal funding
Possible cuts in federal funding to Utah homeless shelters has the operators of at least two facilities worried about how to keep their agencies running and pursuing increased donations from the public as a way to keep afloat. 'Our fundraising and grant-writing efforts are going to have to ramp up pretty significantly,' said Lauren Navidomskis, executive director of Lantern House, a 330-bed homeless shelter in Ogden that serves individuals and families. Kristen Mitchell, founder and executive director of Youth Futures Utah, which operates shelters for homeless youth in Ogden, Cedar City and St. George, worries about the future of some $750,000 in funding that comes through the federal Runaway and Homeless Youth Act. Like Navidomskis, she also worries about the future of funding through the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Emergency Food and Shelter Program, which amounts to $25,000 to $50,000 a year for Youth Futures. 'We have some pretty intense uncertainty about our federal funding,' Mitchell said. The funding hasn't been cut — not yet, anyway. The administration of President Donald Trump, though, has frozen distribution of the money as it reviews spending. This has spurred jitters and calls by Mitchell for the public to donate and to reach out to Utah's federal delegation to urge approval of Runaway and Homeless Youth Act funding. Runaway and Homeless Youth Act funding alone accounts for around 17% of Youth Futures' annual budget of $4.5 million, and the potential loss of the money, if not offset by other revenue, worries Mitchell. Services could be trimmed, meaning some homeless kids would potentially have to fend for themselves. Before Youth Futures opened its first facility in 2015, Mitchell said, homeless kids would seek shelter in caves, abandoned buildings, sheds, parks or homes of drug dealers. 'It's tragic the things that these kids have to turn to to survive,' she said. Lantern House and Youth Futures, both privately operated nonprofit agencies, aren't alone in their unease about future funding under Trump, whose administration is focused on slashing government spending. In conversations with leaders from other Utah organizations that aid the homeless, Mitchell also senses uncertainty. 'They're calling me, going, 'Have you heard anything? What have you heard? What are you seeing?'' she said. Likewise, the funding freeze is causing concern among organizations around the country that aid the homeless and others in need. Nearly 50 U.S. House Democrats signed a letter sent Monday to FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, calling on them to restore FEMA's Emergency Food and Shelter Program funding. 'EFSP plays a critical role in combatting hunger and homelessness in our country, working to lift children and families out of desperate circumstances. We demand that you take immediate action to ensure that full funding for EFSP, as appropriated by Congress, resumes without further disruption,' reads the letter, sent by Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Ohio. The FEMA program 'provides critical support to local organizations, filling gaps to respond to urgent needs or where other sources of funding fall short,' the letter continues. Navidomskis said about half of Lantern House's annual $3 million budget comes from federal and state funds. If federal funding is cut, though, that could reduce money coming from the state, as well, as state leaders reallocate funds to recipient agencies to help them contend with the loss of support from Washington, D.C. Lantern House, the largest shelter in Utah in terms of bed count, provided 3,300 people with 97,000 shelter nights between them in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2024. It served around 120,000 free meals to 4,200 people. Mitchell describes Youth Futures as 'sitting in a sort of limbo position' as federal authorities review spending. The agency has 53 beds for homeless youth at its three locations and serves around 700 people per year. 'We just don't have answers. We don't know,' she said. That uncertainty is prompting the turn to the public for donations to help offset any federal funding cuts. 'I'm trying to get ahead of possible concerns. I'm trying to diversify my funding, receive more just unrestricted funding to help us cover any possible delays or cuts or freezes,' Mitchell said. Meantime, Navidomskis said the number of people Lantern House serves and the severity of issues many of them face continue to rise. 'I don't think the homeless issue is getting better. I think there's more awareness and there seems to be a little bit more investment from our higher-level philanthropic giving that can drive some evidence-based change,' she said. 'But from the day-to-day perspective, it still feels like a very, very heavy task and load to lift.'
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Utah homeless advocates worry about loss of federal funding
Possible cuts in federal funding to Utah homeless shelters has the operators of at least two facilities worried about how to keep their agencies running and pursuing increased donations from the public as a way to keep afloat. 'Our fundraising and grant-writing efforts are going to have to ramp up pretty significantly,' said Lauren Navidomskis, executive director of Lantern House, a 330-bed homeless shelter in Ogden that serves individuals and families. Kristen Mitchell, founder and executive director of Youth Futures Utah, which operates shelters for homeless youth in Ogden, Cedar City and St. George, worries about the future of some $750,000 in funding that comes through the federal Runaway and Homeless Youth Act. Like Navidomskis, she also worries about the future of funding through the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Emergency Food and Shelter Program, which amounts to $25,000 to $50,000 a year for Youth Futures. 'We have some pretty intense uncertainty about our federal funding,' Mitchell said. The funding hasn't been cut — not yet, anyway. The administration of President Donald Trump, though, has frozen distribution of the money as it reviews spending. This has spurred jitters and calls by Mitchell for the public to donate and to reach out to Utah's federal delegation to urge approval of Runaway and Homeless Youth Act funding. Runaway and Homeless Youth Act funding alone accounts for around 17% of Youth Futures' annual budget of $4.5 million, and the potential loss of the money, if not offset by other revenue, worries Mitchell. Services could be trimmed, meaning some homeless kids would potentially have to fend for themselves. Before Youth Futures opened its first facility in 2015, Mitchell said, homeless kids would seek shelter in caves, abandoned buildings, sheds, parks or homes of drug dealers. 'It's tragic the things that these kids have to turn to to survive,' she said. Lantern House and Youth Futures, both privately operated nonprofit agencies, aren't alone in their unease about future funding under Trump, whose administration is focused on slashing government spending. In conversations with leaders from other Utah organizations that aid the homeless, Mitchell also senses uncertainty. 'They're calling me, going, 'Have you heard anything? What have you heard? What are you seeing?'' she said. Likewise, the funding freeze is causing concern among organizations around the country that aid the homeless and others in need. Nearly 50 U.S. House Democrats signed a letter sent Monday to FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, calling on them to restore FEMA's Emergency Food and Shelter Program funding. 'EFSP plays a critical role in combatting hunger and homelessness in our country, working to lift children and families out of desperate circumstances. We demand that you take immediate action to ensure that full funding for EFSP, as appropriated by Congress, resumes without further disruption,' reads the letter, sent by Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Ohio. The FEMA program 'provides critical support to local organizations, filling gaps to respond to urgent needs or where other sources of funding fall short,' the letter continues. Navidomskis said about half of Lantern House's annual $3 million budget comes from federal and state funds. If federal funding is cut, though, that could reduce money coming from the state, as well, as state leaders reallocate funds to recipient agencies to help them contend with the loss of support from Washington, D.C. Lantern House, the largest shelter in Utah in terms of bed count, provided 3,300 people with 97,000 shelter nights between them in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2024. It served around 120,000 free meals to 4,200 people. Mitchell describes Youth Futures as 'sitting in a sort of limbo position' as federal authorities review spending. The agency has 53 beds for homeless youth at its three locations and serves around 700 people per year. 'We just don't have answers. We don't know,' she said. That uncertainty is prompting the turn to the public for donations to help offset any federal funding cuts. 'I'm trying to get ahead of possible concerns. I'm trying to diversify my funding, receive more just unrestricted funding to help us cover any possible delays or cuts or freezes,' Mitchell said. Meantime, Navidomskis said the number of people Lantern House serves and the severity of issues many of them face continue to rise. 'I don't think the homeless issue is getting better. I think there's more awareness and there seems to be a little bit more investment from our higher-level philanthropic giving that can drive some evidence-based change,' she said. 'But from the day-to-day perspective, it still feels like a very, very heavy task and load to lift.'
