In attendance: Peter Cofoni, DCF, MarleneCorales, Westover Job Corps, Emily English, Gandara Center, Lisa Goldsmith, Community Action, Ann Lentini, Domus, Gerry McCafferty, Hampden County CoC, Magnus Monroe, Davis Foundation, Lizzy Ortiz, Mercy Medical Center, Phil Ringwood, DIAL/SELF, Ellorie Stevens, DCF, Tyrese Tillman, CHD Safety Zone, Kelsey Wessels, DIAL/SELF
EOHHS Youth Grant Updates:Three County CoC:
- Between Jan and March: 69 young people were connecting to services; 29 new young people served and 17 under the EOHHS grant. 20 young people have been housed.
- Winter shelter planning: discussions underway with shelter providers to make shelters more youth-focused
- Needs assessment: RFP has been issued to obtain a consultant
- Coordinated Entry: paused due to CoC transition between Hilltown CDC and Community Action
Hampden County:
- 31 young people are currently housed.
- Needs assessment: consultants have been retained and meetings are underway, both with providers and young people focus groups. On April 4, there will be a debrief session with the consultants. 9:30 am – 12:30 pm at UMass Springfield. Stay tuned for details.
- Coordinated Entry: Gandara and CHD are meeting at least monthly and are now the main points of entry for coordinated entry. Working towards expanding the entry points and referral sources. The outreach to DCF will be part of that.
- Youth shelter: working on locating space. Meanwhile staff have been hired and are being trained and utilized for outreach.
MA Youth Count: Will take place between 4/12- 5/12. Planning is underway for outreach and identification. DCF will be enlisted as part of the outreach. MassHire Holyoke is holding a career services fair focused on youth on April 10, 4-6 pm, War Memorial in Holyoke. Contact Gladys LeBron of MassHire Holyoke for follow-up.
DCF training on May 23, 10 am – 12 noon, Kittredge Center, HCC: Elorie reminded us of the cross-training audience – staff from DCF, DYS, probation, etc. We clarified our goals and objectives:
- to gain an understanding of available services to address youth homelessness
- when in contact with a young person who is at risk or currently homeless, to learn how to access the system, what is the full-service continuum
- to get information on the eligibility guidelines for each program
We will have tables with information available. We will provide summary sheets of programs and eligibility criteria.
Pamela will convene a conference call to plan further with: Emily, Phil, Lizzy, Lisa, Tyrese, Gerry
YHDP grant: HUD issued next round of grant opportunity for CoC for community response to youth homelessness. Hampden County is applying again (previous applications did not score quite high enough). This time able to rely on the additional input from needs assessment and foster care project and the development of a youth advisory board.
Foster Care Collaboration Update – The journey mapping is underway to look at the trajectory for youth ages 14 to mid-20’s. A group of 8 youth met yesterday; very productive conversation.
Be sure to sign up for the Annual Resource Fair on June 10 if you haven’t already!
To register to attend: go here.To register to request table space to share resources: go here
Next meeting dates:
4/17, 9:30 am, Kittredge Center, Room 203
5/8, 9:30 am, Holyoke Public Library
6/5, 9:30, Kittredge Center, Room 303
