Advocacy

YouthCare Partners with Planned Parenthood to Provide Teen Health Education

YouthCare is honored to have worked with Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands on a lawsuit to support teen health education. The trainings are provided to youth living at YouthCare, and Planned Parenthood has worked extremely hard to make the materials inclusive and affirming to young people with diverse gender expression and identities, as well as culturally… Read More of “YouthCare Partners with Planned Parenthood to Provide Teen Health Education”

YouthCare Endorses Seattle Family, Education, Preschool, and Promise Levy

YouthCare’s Board has unanimously voted to endorse the Seattle Families, Education, Preschool and Promise (FEPP) Levy. We know that young people with less than a high school diploma or GED have a 346% higher risk of experiencing homelessness and that young people of color are at disproportionately higher risk of dropping out or being pushed… Read More of “YouthCare Endorses Seattle Family, Education, Preschool, and Promise Levy”

No, Youth Don’t Choose to Live Outside

“Just because youth are sleeping outside doesn’t mean they prefer to live there,” writes YouthCare’s CEO, Melinda Giovengo, in this Op-Ed to the Seattle Times. “That’s a false dichotomy. It means they were put in the impossible situation of choosing themselves over their family. Or abandoning their partner, because there’s no couples’ shelter. Or their… Read More of “No, Youth Don’t Choose to Live Outside”

YouthCare Endorses De-Escalate Washington

YouthCare’s leadership unanimously voted to support the De-Escalate Washington ballot initiative—and we urge you to support Initiative 940 too. I-940 is a grassroots effort led by people of color and families who have been impacted by police violence. The initiative would require law enforcement to receive violence de-escalation and mental health training, and it would change… Read More of “YouthCare Endorses De-Escalate Washington”

YouthCare Endorses King County Veterans, Seniors, and Human Services Levy

YouthCare supports the renewal of the King County Veterans, Seniors, and Human Services Levy (VSHSL). Our region faces an affordability crisis. Rents in Seattle have risen 57% in the last six years and studies show that every $100 increase in rent is associated with a 15% increase in homelessness in metropolitan areas. King County is… Read More of “YouthCare Endorses King County Veterans, Seniors, and Human Services Levy”

YouthCare Endorses Seattle Housing Levy

YouthCare’s Board of Directors recently voted to support the Seattle Housing Levy. The levy would renew and expand the existing property tax levy that funds construction and maintenance of affordable housing—including several YouthCare projects over the years. The August 2 primary election is fast-approaching and YouthCare requests your support for affordable housing. At the end of… Read More of “YouthCare Endorses Seattle Housing Levy”

YouthBuild Hosts Press Conference for Priority Hire Ordinance

Graduates from YouthCare’s YouthBuild Program spoke at Mayor Murray’s press conference today regarding the City’s new Priority Hire Ordinance. The legislation requires contractors to prioritize hiring women, low-income residents, and residents of color for city construction projects. It also increases existing requirements for contractors to hire apprentices and introduces requirements for hiring graduates from local pre-apprentice… Read More of “YouthBuild Hosts Press Conference for Priority Hire Ordinance”

Vote Yes on KC Prop 1 – Best Starts for Kids

With more than 40 years of experience serving homeless youth and young adults, we can say with certainty that the best way to end youth homelessness is to prevent youth homelessness from ever occurring. That’s why homelessness prevention has been a growing focus of our work over the last several years, and why our board of… Read More of “Vote Yes on KC Prop 1 – Best Starts for Kids”

In Conversation with Congressman Adam Smith

U.S. Congressman Adam Smith (D-09) met recently with a group of YouthCare staff, board members, and former clients to discuss barriers and challenges to serving homeless youth and young adults. The conversation shed particular light on the needs of homeless youth who are “couchsurfing”—that is, floating between temporary housing situations without knowing how long they… Read More of “In Conversation with Congressman Adam Smith”