Homeless Student Stability and Opportunity Program (HSSP) grants

Homeless Student Stability and Opportunity Program (HSSP) grants is sponsored by Washington State Department of Commerce, Office of Homeless Youth (OHY). HSSP grants fund housing support services for both unaccompanied students and households with students experiencing homelessness.

Youth Supportive Services – Washington State Department of Commerce Shared Standards Initiative 简体中文 ( Chinese (Simplified) ) 繁體中文 ( Chinese (Traditional) ) Tiếng Việt ( Vietnamese ) Youth Supportive Services OHY’s supportive service grants focus on specific needs or populations at higher risk of experiencing homelessness.

Services are intended to reach young people experiencing a wide range of unstable housing situations and are not limited to those who are actively experiencing unsheltered homelessness. Funds support all aspects of service coordination, including assessing needs, developing individualized youth-led goal plans, facilitating solution-building conversations, and directly providing or navigating resources.

Activities may occur in drop-in centers, schools, courts or other community spaces frequented by the focus population. Preventative services aim to reduce housing instability and risk factors long before there is a crisis.

While these critical services are part of all OHY funded programs, supportive services grants dedicate resources to populations with specific needs or those identified broadly as being at higher risk of experiencing homelessness. Supportive service only models do not include long-term rental assistance or directly provide overnight shelter or housing.

Grants fund service providers to convene community support teams for unaccompanied youth experiencing homelessness or housing instability. The team’s purpose is to help identify supports for the youth that focus on resolving family conflict and obtaining or maintaining long-term, stable housing.

Providers are responsible for offering guidance on who could be included, ensuring the team includes expertise in accessing a variety of resources, providing assistance connecting with potential members, and allowing flexibility in team composition and timelines. Community support teams take a holistic approach in addressing youth’s core needs, overall social and emotional well-being, and building family connections.

Youth are in the lead when forming their team which may include, but is not limited to, licensed shelter staff, a case manager, individuals from the youth’s school, juvenile court staff, the youth’s attorney, behavioral health providers, community support providers, family members, mentors, peer support, housing navigation, legal assistance, or other community members.

Youth must be under age 18 at enrollment, but services may continue as long as necessary. For more information, see Community Support Teams OHY Program Guidelines (PDF) and Youth supports and housing – Community support teams ( RCW 43. 330.

726 ). Homeless Student Stability Program (HSSP) HSSP was established with passage of the Homeless Student Stability and Opportunity Act, Chapter 157, Laws of 2016 . HSSP grants fund housing support services to both unaccompanied students and households with students who are experiencing homelessness.

Services may include housing navigation, diversion, short-term financial or rental assistance, housing stability case management, and other collaborative strengths-based services. Housing supports should link students with housing located in the student’s school district.

OHY partners with Building Changes to lead technical assistance efforts supporting HSSP and its goals to improve education outcomes by promoting housing stability, encourage collaborative strategies between housing and education partners, and to develop and implement evidence-informed strategies to address racial inequities. For more information, see HSSP OHY Program Guidelines (PDF) , Students experiencing homelessness ( RCW 43. 185C.

340 ), and HSSP Final Evaluation Report 2022-2025 (PDF) . The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) also administers Housing Student Stability Education Program (HSSEP) grants directly to schools and school districts ( RCW 28A. 300.

542 ). Housing Stability for Youth in Courts (H-SYNC) H-SYNC is based on a prevention model developed by the University of Washington CoLab . Grants fund dedicated housing stability coordinators who work closely with juvenile courts to identify eligible youth and families, conduct assessments, and provide connections to relevant community resources.

H-SYNC funding also supports training for juvenile court staff regarding risk factors and identifiers for youth homelessness. For more information, see H-SYNC OHY Program Guidelines (PDF) and Housing stability for youth in crisis pilot programs ( RCW 43. 330.

724 ). Protected Healthcare Services Grants provide a broad range of support and services to youth seeking or receiving protected healthcare services, which include: Gender-affirming care, a service or product that a healthcare provider prescribes to support and affirm an individual’s gender identity (RCW 74. 09.

675) Reproductive healthcare, any medical services or treatments, including pharmaceutical and preventive care service or treatments, directly involved in the reproductive system and its processes, functions, and organs involved in reproduction, in all stages of life (RCW 74. 09.

875) Providers specialize in care specific to gender identity and reproductive health for youth, particularly around parental consent and navigating familial religious or cultural context with respect and protection of confidentiality concerns. Services can include housing navigation, expertise in accessing resources, support accessing critical identification documents, and other basic needs.

Services focus on unaccompanied youth experiencing homelessness or housing instability, particularly when family support or housing stability is at risk because of seeking protected healthcare services, but any youth between ages 12 and 17 is eligible. For more information, see Protected Healthcare Services OHY Program Guidelines (PDF).

Chapter 157, Laws of 2018 (PDF) set the goal that no young person would be discharged from a publicly funded system of care into homelessness. Systems of care, defined by RCW 43. 330.

720 , include child welfare, behavioral health, juvenile justice and OHY-funded programs. Grants fund a variety of interventions focused on preventing young people, ages 13-24, from exiting the custody of a system of care into homelessness.

Supports include behavioral health services, civil legal aid, peer navigators and support, family reconciliation or engagement services, employment support, education support, case management, housing and financial support, or other navigation support to secure safe and stable housing ( RCW 43. 330. 725 ).

Providers are encouraged to utilize innovative approaches to find effective solutions. Services should begin prior to exit in coordination with the system service provider to prepare and plan for the youth to have a smooth transition back into safe and stable housing in the community. For more information, see Systems of Care OHY Program Guidelines (PDF) and Homelessness Among Youth Exiting Systems of Care in Washington State (PDF) .

Grants fund young staff with lived experience of homelessness hired to conduct outreach and case management activities as well as supporting improved service quality within their organization and throughout the state. Grants are federally funded through HUD Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) awards received by OHY for the Washington Balance of State Continuum of Care.

For more information, see OHY’s Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program webpage and Youth Lead Project Program Guidelines (PDF) Functional Zero grants fund a wide variety of services, including supportive services only programs, that are coordinated locally within designated communities. See Communities for Functional Zero for more information.

Street Outreach Services grants may be used towards community-based outreach efforts and supportive services. See Youth Crisis Response and SOS Program Guidelines (PDF) for more information. Ancillary Therapeutic Services (ATS) grants add capacity to youth shelters to increase accessibility of mental health and substance use related services for youth whose behavioral health needs hinder their ability to be stably housed.

See Residential Youth Programs and Ancillary Therapeutic Services OHY Program Guidelines (PDF) . Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) funds Supportive Services Only (SSO) projects. See Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program for more information.

Find contact information and descriptions of programs in your area serving young people, ages 12-24, who are experiencing homelessness or housing instability. OHY Resources for Youth and Young Adults Office of Homeless Youth (OHY)