Inspiring Young Adults Experiencing Homelessness to Build Self Sufficient Lives

Housing and Homelessness

City of Los Angeles

Applying a proven model or solution to a new issue or sector (e.g., using a job recruiting software or strategy to match clients to supportive housing sites, applying demonstrated strategies from advocating for college affordability to advocating for housing affordability and homelessness, etc.)

Young adults who turn 25 and are required to transition out of youth services often get lost in adult systems of care in which they are competing for resources with older adults who have experienced more years of homelessness, have more severe physical health problems and the longer term impacts of substance use, mental health and survival are more visible. Additionally, adult systems assume life skills competency that many young adults have not yet achieved, especially young people who have emerged from the foster care system and/or come from families and communities of origin experiencing substantial poverty and instability. Because access to many resources, including housing, is prioritized by vulnerability, and the system does not acknowledge many of the unique vulnerabilities of 25 to 30 years old, this population is often not prioritized for housing and other resources in adult systems, leading to an extended period of homelessness, which exposes TAYA to additional trauma.

My Friend's Place believes that Transition Age Young Adults (TAYA) ages 25-30 experiencing homelessness require an extended safety net of developmentally appropriate care in order to resolve their homelessness. Our TAYA Program provides a safety net by extending the continuum of care that My Friend's Place has successfully implemented for young people ages 12 to 25 for more than 35 years. Our target population for the TAYA Program is young adults ages 25 -30 who have been accessing services at My Friend's Place, have identified housing as a goal, and are extremely vulnerable to early death if disconnected from services. Our Health and Well-Being Program, which encompasses housing case management, is the primary program in which TAYA are enrolled. Clinical Social Workers assess each young person's psychosocial, emotional, and relational competencies and individualized plan is developed with participants to address goals including recidivism, substance use, mental health and housing needs. Through individualized case management sessions, each participant receives weekly support including: housing navigation, linkage and retention support; Family preservation services; Linkage to substance use services and Narcan; Legal advocacy and Increasing life skills training.. In addition, participants are able to access basic needs services through our Safe Haven Program and employment, education and creative arts programming through our Transformative Education Program.

The TAYA program model offers sector-wide impact in advancing a new approach to resolving homelessness for an underserved demographic of the population experiencing homelessness that integrates brain science, trauma-informed care and skill-building opportunities, as well as community spaces for engagement, healing, and positive peer modeling to combat loneliness and isolation. Leveraging both youth and adult services, while at the same time, innovating services that have the potential for sector wide impact highlighting the specific needs of individuals in this developmental stage, we envision the TAYA service model to empower a growing number of young people in Los Angeles County as we work to reverse community disconnection among young people experiencing homelessness and prevent the deterioration of their mental and physical health that can lead to early death.

My Friend's Place has been implementing and refining our TAYA Program for more than 18 months, and, during this time, we have continuously worked to iterate, adapt and modify our approach and program model to have the greatest impact in the lives of the young people we serve. The numerous needs and vulnerabilities of the young adults enrolled in TAYA programming have informed an ongoing, evolving program design and package of service activities. For example, our target population now focuses on young adults who, as a result of their declining physical or mental health, are extremely vulnerable to early death if disconnected from ongoing services. Since implementing our revised TAYA program model, all of the currently enrolled young adults have participated in case management sessions. To date, our TAYA Program has kept 50+ young people ages 26-30 connected and engaged in vital services supporting their journeys toward a permanent exit from homelessness.