YouthCare and the Y Social Impact Center have launched a new partnership to help youth and young adults pay back rent due to COVID. The two organizations worked together on a joint application made available through federal CARES funding and administered by the Washington State Department of Commerce, successfully securing a grant of $3.2 million… Read More of “New Rental Assistance Funds Available For Youth”
For over ten years, YouthCare has been running a program called Casa de Los Amigos (Casa) for unaccompanied youth arriving at the U.S. border. The majority of youth served at Casa are fleeing war, gang violence, human trafficking, and extreme poverty. They arrive at Casa alone, with next to nothing. Casa, which is supported by the… Read More of “YouthCare Statement on Illegal Border Closure”
No one could have guessed that we’d be starting the 2020 school year in the midst of an economic downturn and a global pandemic. Though this year has brought massive challenges and uncertainty—including schools transitioning to remote learning environments—YouthCare is continuing to provide shelter, food, and educational support to youth experiencing homelessness. DID YOU KNOW?… Read More of “YouthCare Launches Back-to-School Drive”
Like many workplaces across the country, YouthCare had to quickly adapt to the “new normal” of COVID-19. Through creative problem-solving and community support, we have continued to provide high-quality care to young people while simultaneously navigating an unprecedented economic and public health crisis. The pandemic has increased rates of homelessness, unemployment, and food insecurity across… Read More of “Food for Thought”
Be sure to also read our earlier blog post recapping Pride celebrations with our Casa de los Amigos youth in February. Against the backdrop of a global pandemic and our world’s ongoing fight to seek justice for Black lives, Pride celebrations at YouthCare looked very different than years past. We wanted to share with you… Read More of “How We Honored Pride This Year”
All Home King County released its January 2020 Point-in-Time count results last week and there is cause for both hope and concern. While the count’s methodology has multiple limitations—such as exempting people who are couch-surfing and relying on volunteers to literally count people sleeping outside on one given night—the count offers us a consistent snapshot… Read More of “YouthCare Responds to 2020 Count Us In Results”
“We grow up in a world where we’ve been institutionalized to not celebrate our Blackness.” – Cole, YouthCare staff On Juneteenth, YouthCare staff held a beautiful virtual and in-person celebration for staff and young people. Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright”—a song often broadcasted during Black Lives Matter protests across the country—played in the background as staff logged… Read More of “Celebrating Black Excellence on Juneteenth and Every Day”
Five years ago, King County and the City of Seattle declared a state of emergency on homelessness. Nevertheless, despite modest declines in subpopulations like families and youth, homelessness rates continued to rise almost every year. As thousands of new workers arrived daily, the region’s affordable housing stock shrank. Rents skyrocketed, historic Black and Brown neighborhoods… Read More of “YouthCare Endorses JumpStart Seattle Payroll Tax”
Our world is hurting and hungry for change. Black people in this country are leading a fight for justice—a fight against four hundred years of racism and violence that continues to threaten Black lives and livelihoods. In just the last year, YouthCare lost eight young people. Seven of them were Black. Two of them died at the hands… Read More of “YouthCare’s CEO: Reflections on Courage & Change”
As peaceful protestors across this city have demanded justice against racism and brutality, they’ve faced police clad in military-grade riot gear. Sound grenades. Tear gas. Rubber bullets. Our streets look like a warzone. Last Friday, Mayor Durkan and Chief Best issued a 30-day suspension of the use of tear gas, which was banned from warfare… Read More of “Mayor Durkan: Defund. Reform. Redistribute. Reinvest.”
