Preventing and Ending Youth Homelessness in Cuyahoga County: A Strategic Plan

Every young person belongs and deserves a place to feel safe and comfortable; a place to feel welcomed and loved by family and friends; a place to dream about the future.

But for far too many youth in Cuyahoga County, this place doesn’t exist. Each year, hundreds of young people experience homelessness and housing instability in our community. They lack the consistency, familiarity and stability of a home. And without it, everything seems harder.

The A Place 4 Me initiative — named and inspired by youth — is working to change this by creating a coordinated plan to prevent and end youth homelessness in Cuyahoga County. A Place 4 Me emphasizes the unique needs of youth who experienced foster care and lack the emotional and material support of a family, leaving them particularly vulnerable to housing instability. National data indicate that nearly 40 percent of former foster youth will experience homelessness or housing instability by their 24th birthday.*

No one organization or agency can take on the task of preventing and ending youth homelessness. It requires diverse and innovative thinking from nonprofit organizations, public systems, local government, the faithbased community, funders and — most especially — the young men and women with deep expertise that is only attained through lived experience and resiliency.

These are the public and private partners that represent the A Place 4 Me initiative. Over a 10-month period, nearly 70 individuals from 30 partner agencies have worked together to develop a strategic plan, including core goals and creative strategies, to prevent and end youth homelessness. This plan is intended to honor the work that’s been done and serve as a starting point for moving forward.

Publication Date: 
2015