Ignite Hosted Awardees of YHSI Grant @ Belfort House
CHICAGO — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded $51.1 million in Youth Homelessness System Improvement (YHSI) Grants across 26 states to address and improve supportive programming geared toward eradicating youth homelessness. The three Illinois Awardees: the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), the Embarras River Basin Agency, Inc., and the Illinois Collaboration on Youth (ICOY) were honored at a reception on Friday, July 19th at Ignite’s Belfort House location. Ignite is one of the youth organizations actively working with the collaborative led by ICOY, one of the three grantees.
According to Chapin Hall, 1 in 10 young people from ages 18-25 will experience housing insecurity. Circumstances such as poverty, mental health, abuse, lack of affordable housing, discrimination, and gaps in foster care contribute to the expansive number of young adults who experience homelessness. To combat these staggering statistics, social services agencies across the nation have created empowering programming and seek to bring continuity and growth. The YHSI funding will ultimately create and establish a more comprehensive system of care and coordination for youth experiencing and at risk of homelessness. This new system will bring cohesiveness to how various institutions and agencies work in partnership.
“This funding is a critical component in our community’s efforts to prevent and end homelessness. By improving systems that impact youth, we not only help young people at the greatest risk of harm in our community, but we also create lasting solutions that help youth realize their futures and prevent chronic adult housing instability.” - Stephanie Piccirilli, President & CEO, Ignite.
The event featured remarks from:
Stephanie Piccirilli, President & CEO, Ignite
Sendy Soto, Chief Homelessness Officer, City of Chicago - Chicago Department of Family and Support Services
Jim Cunningham, Deputy Regional Administrator, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development - Great Lakes Region
Heidi Mueller, Director, Illinois Department of Children and Family Services - State of Illinois
Andrea Durbin, Chief Executive Officer, Illinois Collaboration on Youth
Cathy Feltner, Executive Director, Embarras River Basin Agency
Lyn Carlen, Homeless Program Coordinator, Embarras River Basin Agency, Inc.
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Ignite delivers a nationally recognized program of trauma-informed care, for youth experiencing homelessness, that focuses on the unique needs of each individual. We support over 590 young people annually through a spectrum of services from street outreach, drop-in centers, and emergency shelter to transitional and independent apartment-based housing. To learn more, donate, or volunteer with Ignite, please visit ignitepromise.org or contact Andi Dumas at adumas@ignitepromise.org.