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- October 2007
The
LWVOR
Homeless
Youth
Study
has
contributed
to
the
legislative
decision
to
allocate
$900,000.
for
community
grants
for
homeless
and
runaway
youth
services.
The
Oregon
Commission
on
Children
and
Families has
produced
a
Request
for
Proposals
which
was
sent
to
local
commissions
last
week.
Each
local
county
commission
may
apply
for
these
funds,
which
will
be
allocated
on
Jan.
1,
08
for
18
month
programs.
The
proposals
may
range
from
$50,000.
to
$250,000
for
county
programs
during
this
time
period. As
you
can
see,
that
amount
will
not
fund
each
county
so
the
grant
writing
process
in
county
commissions
will
be
critical.
This
notice
is
sent
to
alert
leagues
who
did
local
studies
and
want
to
help
local
commissions
establish
services
for
homeless
youth.
The
action
recommended
is
to
contact
your
local
county
Commission
on
Children
and
Families
and
ask
if
they
will
be
applying
for
these
grant
funds.
You
can
also
volunteer
to
work
on
the
committees
or
ask
to
be
notified
of
the
status
of
these
local
applications.
Karen
Nibler,
LWVOR
Social
Policy
Chair
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About the Study on Homeless Youth in
Oregon: |
STUDY SCOPE: Research the number and conditions
of homeless youth in Oregon, with emphasis on
contributing causes, medical, housing and
educational needs. Identify the skills and
support services homeless youth need to leave
street life and to lead sustainable lives,
avoiding a lifelong homelessness*. Examine
programs and proposals for meeting these needs,
including state, county, private and faith-based
programs and proposals. Identify “best
practices” solutions in urban and rural settings
wherever they are operating. Clarify the legal
structures that affect the lives of homeless
youth. Make recommendations for actions to be
taken.
OUTLOOK FOR WORK:
Local Leagues will participate by gathering the
information outlined in the scope in their
counties. Lists and suggestions will be outlined
to guide this process. (The county Commissions
on Children and Families have begun this process
and the report from the Task Force on Homeless
and Runaway Youth is available.) This
examination will cover what is known, what is
unknown, what exists, what is needed.
Identify the local partners interested in
working out solutions.
Financing issues will be considered at various
levels.
The state committee will visit, examine and
describe “best practice programs” in both urban
and rural settings with the assistance of those
who find them in their locations. The Every
Member material compiled and produced by the
state committee will present a picture of the
situation throughout Oregon.
The committee will provide statements or
questions that will lead to concurrence or
consensus and a chosen course of action.
* We found it prudent to focus on the needs of
the homeless youth (safety, shelter, food,
education and skill building, counseling and
mentoring, and independence) rather than on the
stressors they have walked away from (physical
and emotional abuse, substance abuse, lack of
success in school, domestic violence, familial
distress and mental illness).
Bibliography on homeless
youth study
Interviews and contacts
for study
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Interview Notes with Case
Manager for Community Works, Rogue Valley
Notes from interview conducted by Margaret
Bradburn on January 18, 2006
Interviewed was Michael Robinson, case manager
for Community Works and Liaison for Homeless
Kids at Eagle Point High School. In this
interview, we focused on his position of liaison
for homeless teenagers at the high school.
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