The struggle to help LGBTQ foster youth aging-out of the system with housing continues in Sacramento  

Making the transition from the street to permanent housing can be difficult - it's hard to force people to seek help. San Francisco works to help the homeless rise from the poverty cycle by pinpointing the most chronically homeless people on the street and urge them into services.

Long-term housing support helps end the cycles of displacement that lead to chronic homelessness. Although permanent supportive housing programs are usually associated with older individuals, such programs can be directed toward the prevention of homelessness. In Philadelphia, Project Home’s program offers long-term subsided apartments to young adults at risk of being on the street.

As colleges and universities across the United States have shifted to online classes and shut down their campuses, not every student simply has the ability to move home. To help support these students, many of whom are low-income or international, the Stay Together Appalachian Youth Project began working with local communities to find housing for displaced students, as well as to provide other support like money or supplies.

During the pandemic, indigenous communities received massive federal funding through the 2020 Coronavirus Aid, the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act, and the Relief and Economic Security Act for a number of needs, like infrastructure and tribal housing improvements. Many indigenous entities received smaller funds too. But COVID exacerbated several long-pending and neglected issues, local officials and tribal members say, and the funding does not sufficiently address them in the longterm.

Catholic Charities helps immigrants and refugees access housing and transition to life in a new country. Housing is the first step in the resettlement process, but Catholic Charities also helps immigrants find jobs, get their children in school and integrate into the community. In 2007, Fort Wayne welcomed 3,500 Burmese refugees. By 2016 the number had grown to more than 6,000 and counting.

Several community organizations and municipalities like the Office of Transgender Initiatives (OTI) have come together to decrease homelessness rates among the transgender population. OTI formed a Trans Advisory Committee which focused on budget and policy advocacy based on input from the transgender community to address homelessness and partnered with efforts like the Transgender District. All in all, these combined efforts have decreased transgender homelessness by 15% since 2019.

Fortify Life takes a holistic approach to addressing homelessness and also provides emergency and long-term stays in a renovated motel for people experiencing homelessness. Long-term guests participate in a micropayment program that teaches them how to budget and become financially self-sufficient. Since 2021, Fortify Life has helped 179 families with emergency or transitional housing.

Temporary Alternative Placement Agreements (TAPA) allow parents struggling with addiction to enter a drug-treatment program and connect them with parenting resources and support to help them maintain custody of their children. Under a TAPA parents have a say in who their children stay with while they're seeking treatment, rather than losing custody altogether. Participants say TAPAs are far less traumatic and help hold them accountable as they’re required to sign an agreement to uphold at the start of the program.

Thorn’s Spotlight tool uses text and facial recognition technology to scrub the web, helping investigators find underage sex-trafficking victims. Spotlight has been used by law enforcement on nearly 40,000 cases in North America, helping investigators find more than 9,000 children and 10,000 traffickers.

The Kids with a Vision Foundation (K-WAVF) provides care and shelter, particularly to vulnerable youth displaced by conflicts. K-WAVF’s team of community representatives also partners with local schools to take youth on educational field trips and provide vocational training. Since its inception in 2013, K-WAVF has extended its reach across five local government areas in the state.