Public Systems & Government Agencies
Public Systems &
Government Agencies
Client:
Project:
Housing Justice for Young People Under the Age of 18
Services:
Facilitation | Policy Design | Tool & Resource Design
Description:
HJC worked with stakeholders in Washington State for over three years to develop system and policy recommendations to address the housing and legal rights of young people under 18 experiencing homelessness. The original project engaged young people who had been served by a new intervention called Youth Engagement Teams (YET), as well as youth action boards in two counties and one that was statewide. This work led to the “Building a Better Future for Minors Experiencing a Housing Crisis in Washington State” report.
Following the report the Washington State legislature passed two bills offering limited legal protections and housing / services funding for young people under 18. HJC partnered with the state agency to engage young people in making implementation recommendations.
In early 2024 we worked with three youth consultants in Washington State to design and implement a system modeling workshop that can estimate the amount and types of housing and services needed to ensure all young people under 18 have access to what they need, resulting in the “Modeling for Housing Stability for Youth Under 18 in Washington State” report for the state’s Office of Homeless Youth. Our ongoing partners in the work have been Mockingbird Society and Legal Counsel for Youth and Children.
Client:
Office to Prevent & End Homelessness Illinois Department of Human Services
Project:
Plan to End Homelessness
Services:
Coaching | Facilitation | Strategy | Tool & Resource Design
Description:
HJC worked with senior leadership of the State of Illinois Office to Prevent and End Homelessness to develop the next two year plan to end homelessness. Areas of focus included:
Leadership Team Development and Alignment to improve team dynamics and culture of the recently expanded leadership team, and implement cohesion, governance, and accountability measures.
Framework Review and Strategy to facilitate assessment of options, addressing of anxieties around racial equity, course of action decision-making and adherence.
Engagement Process Design to develop a structured and cohesive engagement process to be utilized by the senior leadership team, and design an approach to ensure alignment and clear steps for the agencies being engaged.
HJC has taken big-picture concepts such
as transparency, fairness, and equity and translated them into meaningful action within the homelessness sector and local continuum of care.
By breaking these broad principles into practical, actionable strategies, HJC has helped move conversations into implementation.
Eugenia R. Olison
Office to Prevent & End Homelessness,
Illinois Dept. of Human Services