Point Source Youth: National Symposium on Solutions to End Youth Homelessness
Over 50 Experts Gather to Address the Youth Homelessness Crisis
NEW YORK, June 15, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Point Source Youth announces the National Symposium on Solutions to End Youth Homelessness at the NYU Rosenthal Pavilion, one of the the largest symposia in the nation specific to solutions to address youth homelessness, with 50 speakers and over 250 leaders, advocates, and community members coming together to co-create solutions to ending the youth homelessness crisis in New York City and throughout the U.S.
Speakers include NYC Commissioner Steven Banks, representatives from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development the U.S., the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness.
Point Source Youth is hosting the symposium in collaboration with the McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research and the NYU Silver School of Social work. It is sponsored by the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
"We are here to work together to provide youth experiencing homelessness with the housing supports and services that they want and they need, for the length of time appropriate to them, so they can achieve their goals in life. Fifty speakers from two continents are here, as are providers, government officials, philanthropists, and foundations from across the US. We are here to do more. We are here to do better," said Larry Cohen, Executive Director, and co-founder of Point Source Youth.
"As we work to turn the tide on homelessness, addressing the needs of young people facing hard times is crucial. Under this Administration, we have tripled the total number of youth beds, opened the first-ever LGBTQI shelter dedicated to serving gender non-conforming young people as they get back on their feet, and we are expanding rental assistance programs to include youth living in DYCD shelters—but there is more to be done. We remain focused on deepening the progress we have made, enhancing access to targeted high-quality resources and helping more and more young people transition back into permanent housing or avoid homelessness altogether," stated Steven Banks, Department of Social Services Commissioner, New York City.
"The McSilver Institute is honored to co-sponsor this convening to examine effective solutions to the youth homelessness crisis. As a research institute, we are committed to understanding the root causes of such issues and to developing evidence-based interventions. This symposium is a unique opportunity for researchers, service providers, youth who have experienced homelessness, and policy makers to collaborate on solutions that work," said Dr. Michael A. Lindsey, Director, McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research.
"Housing First originated in New York City and has been successful in reducing chronic homelessness in the US and in many other countries. Youth who experience homelessness are among the fastest rising homeless subpopulations and we need to focus on evidenced-based solutions such as Housing First to address this crisis," declared Deborah Padgett, Professor, New York University and Planning Committee Member.
"We have made much progress addressing the issues of veteran's homelessness, demonstrating how interventions like rapid rehousing can be impactful and cost effective. It's time to look at critical populations such as youth who experience homelessness. There is a sense of urgency given the high utilization of services by them. We need evidence-based solutions that effectively address their needs," added Dennis Culhane, Professor, University of Pennsylvania, and and Planning Committee Member
The National Symposium on Solutions to End Youth Homelessness is taking part at the Rosenthal Pavilion at the NYU Kimmel Center on June 19th and June 20th from 9am – 4pm. www.pointsourceyouth.org/symposium
Point Source Youth is a national non-profit organization, headquartered in New York City, dedicated to ending youth homelessness. Point Source Youth works in partnership with experts, funders, policy makers, advocacy groups, and local service providers to fund, implement, and measure scalable interventions to effectively engage at-risk young people and end youth homelessness.
SOURCE Point Source Youth
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