Strategies to End Homelessness, in partnership with Lighthouse Youth & Family Services, the Family Housing Partnership, and Children’s Law Center is proud to announce the launch of the KEYS to a Future Without Youth Homelessness plan. The Family Housing Partnership includes Bethany House Services, Interfaith Hospitality Network of Greater Cincinnati, The Salvation Army, and YWCA Greater Cincinnati.

Lighthouse is the lead agency for KEYS, a community effort to create an innovative system that ensures all young people ages 18-24 have access to safe, affordable, and stable housing. The KEYS plan was developed after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) selected Cincinnati/Hamilton County in January 2017 to receive $3.8 million in funding for HUD’s Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program. Strategies to End Homelessness and Lighthouse worked with a broad array of partners to create the plan, relying specifically on the ideas and recommendations provided by young people who experienced homelessness. HUD approved the plan in January 2018.

“We are proud to have strong leaders in our community already serving this population, but with this new funding, we are thrilled to be able to push the boundaries of how the system responds as a whole to the unique needs of youth experiencing homelessness,” said Kevin Finn, President and CEO, Strategies to End Homelessness.

Since the beginning of the process to design and implement the KEYS plan, youth and young adults with lived experiences of homelessness have been treated as the experts and involved in planning and decision-making.

“Not a decision was made without young people being at the table saying, ‘This is what we think will work for us’,’” said Bonita Campbell, Vice President of Homeless Youth Services at Lighthouse. “It has been really important as well as rewarding to work with them throughout this entire process. They said what they wish could have been different and what would have helped them along the way to end their homelessness more quickly. Their voices drove every aspect of the plan.”

 The KEYS plan is designed to
* Reduce the percentage of young people who become homeless by over 50% by 2020
* Reduce the average length of homeless episodes from 38 days to 21 days by 2020
* Increase the percentage of young people who become permanently housed after leaving shelter to 80% by 2020

The KEYS plan is about redesigning the current system, maximizing our community’s assets, and closing the gaps in service. The goal is to have a system that is easy to navigate for young people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

“A staff attorney from the Children’s Law Center will work with partner agencies, as a member of the KEYS team, seeking to remove legal barriers to sustainable housing. The attorney will be based out of the Lighthouse Sheakley Center for Youth two-three days a week and will provide direct representation, counsel and advice, and educational sessions.” Said Acena Beck, Executive Director, Children’s Law Center

The Family Housing Partnership brings its expertise serving parents and children to the KEYS project. “We have served youth parents for a long time,” said Sarah Wagner, Director of Social Ministries at the Salvation Army. “We are excited to bring that experience to this partnership with Lighthouse and the KEYS project. We are ready to make homelessness something rare, something that doesn’t have to happen for young people taking on the role of parenting.”

One of the biggest innovations to come out of the KEYS plan is the creation of a Youth Dedicated Services Team. The team of case managers will work with young people one-on-one for up to 24 months to help connect them with whatever services they need and try to ensure they never become homeless again.

“Having multiple case managers to talk to can be so overwhelming. One caseworker knows this, the other knows this,” said Arianna Jones, President of the Lighthouse Youth Advisory Council. “My situation happened almost three years ago, and me talking about it every time, I feel that pain all over again.”

There is also a Data Dashboard that tracks how many young people are experiencing homelessness, how long they are homeless, and whether they become homeless again. The process of reviewing the public dashboard will facilitate an unprecedented level of impact, change, and accountability.