In partnership with the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) will make small capacity building grants to the 18 Continuum of Care (CoC) lead agencies across Massachusetts.
The Grants can be used for activities related to the state of Massachusetts 2015 Youth Count initiative. Grantees will conduct a service- and street-based Point In Time Count of unaccompanied homeless youth, and administer a demographic and service-use survey to unaccompanied youth who are at risk of or are experiencing homelessness.
Activities eligible for use of funding:
- Conducting service- and street-based counts of unaccompanied homeless youth, meeting either the HUD or Commission-recognized definition, on the night of the annual Point In Time Count. This is to take place in December in the Boston CoC and in January in the other 17 CoCs.
- Engaging partners, including housing, service providers, government entities, youth-serving agencies, LGBTQ-serving agencies, and other community-based nonprofits, in a local planning committee to assist in the identification of unaccompanied homeless youth during the Point In Time Count.
- Administering a survey to unaccompanied homeless youth identified through the Point In Time Count, or otherwise, over the course of the week following the Point In Time Count.
- Recruiting volunteers, including homeless or formerly homeless youth, to assist with the Point In Time Count and administration of the survey.
- Paying stipends to youth volunteers to acknowledge their time commitment and work.
- Paying small incentives to youths completing the survey (optional).
- Participating in data collection and reporting activities, including submission of completed surveys and participation in a process evaluation with DHCD’s data analysis team.