Creating spaces where youth are seen and can build self-empowerment
Through coalition-building and grassroots activism, Measure L called on city officials to cede some ownership, voice, and decisionmaking power over city funds to the young people who make up approximately 32 percent of the city’s population.
Sacramento has grown to more than 500,000 residents. As the population grew, so did housing prices. In 2022, there was a higher number of unhoused people in Sacramento than in San Francisco, with a 67% increase in Sacramento County over the course of the prior three years. One in 7 people experiencing homelessness in Sacramento County is under the age of 24. Young people transitioning out of foster care are at particularly high risk as they navigate this critical time in life, often without adequate support. In fact, in Sacramento, 1 in 4 people who are experiencing homelessness have been through the foster care system.
By 2024, the homeless population had dropped by 29% to under 7,000 people due in large part to local efforts to address the housing issue. City officials credit investments in permanent housing, shelters, and homeless outreach for that improvement—but local nonprofits say they are still overwhelmed with the volume of need in the community.
As one of the key organizations focusing on youth homelessness prevention, Youth Forward is engaging youth who have been directly impacted by homelessness.
Araiye “Ray” Thomas-Haysbert, 25, and Jen Phanh, 20, were both unhoused and displaced throughout their teen years at the time when they were both attending Hiram W. Johnson High School in South Sacramento, a school in which Youth Forward holds its Motivate Youth Program. Sitting together in their shared office at Youth Forward, they know personally the challenges today’s unhoused youth face, and they bring that expertise to their roles as youth organizers conducting outreach and afterschool programs. They also support other programs that counsel students on mental health and advocacy. “I didn’t really have a mentor in high school, but I really wish I had one,” Thomas-Haysbert shared. Phanh adds that when she joined as an organizer, “I wanted to be the adult that I didn’t have in school,” noting that the “students are going through real-life problems, and it’s hard to focus,” but oftentimes the schools and other agencies don’t fully grasp everything an unhoused student is juggling.