My Friend's Place Endorses "Young People To The Front"

My Friend's Place is proud to announce our endorsement of the "Young People To The Front" campaign, launching May 25 across Los Angeles.

Co-created by the Los Angeles Coalition to End Youth Homelessness (LACEYH) and the Hollywood Homeless Youth Partnership (HHYP), “Young People To The Front” is a collaborative advocacy and awareness campaign centered around youth experiencing homelessness. Recognizing that Los Angeles has the most significant homelessness crisis in the country—and that 1 in 10 of those experiencing homelessness in L.A. is a young person under the age 25—a collaborative of service providers, young people and sector leaders have come together to both increase visibility for the unhoused youth population in Los Angeles while also demanding greater accountability from public systems and officials charged with addressing the homeless epidemic in our city and county.

On any given night in Los Angeles County, at least 4,000 young people experience homelessness. With limited access to age-specific resources including prevention, outreach, bridge housing, workforce development, and affordable housing, it is immensely harder for young people to safely and successfully exit homelessness. Yet, we know that ending youth homelessness is possible. Our city, county, and state leaders can accomplish this goal by recognizing that young people need specific and well-funded homelessness services that are developmentally appropriate.

The Young People to the Front Campaign seeks to build said support and end youth homelessness in Los Angeles. Led by young people, the campaign has developed a 5 point plan to end youth homelessness in Los Angeles that includes ensuring equitable access, prioritizing youth specific set asides, investing in youth specific services, decriminalizing homelessness, and elevating youth’s lived experience. Los Angeles citizens, businesses, nonprofits, elected officials and candidates are invited to sign the Young People To The Front Platform, standing beside our youth experiencing homelessness while simultaneously demanding greater support from public systems and officials.

We invite you—our incredible My Friend's Place community—to consider signing the Young People To The Front pledge today. Head to www.youngpeopletothefront.org for more information.