Direct Cash Transfers as Prevention (dCT-P)

Direct Cash Transfers as Prevention (DCT-P) is a scalable, youth-driven solution to prevent youth homelessness. This intervention is a one-time cash payment to young people based on the cost of living in that community with the goal of preventing them from entering homelessness in the first place. Alongside the unconditional cash payment are services provided by a local community-based organization that might include housing navigation, financial counseling, and peer support.

MEET THE AWARDEES

MEET THE AWARDEES

Young people are owed the resources, the support, the care, and the intentionality to thrive. Imagine what we’ll be able to see when young people never have to experience the harms of housing instability and instead are able to flourish, to contribute their talents, their gifts, their thought leadership, their passions, and their love to a world that greatly needs them.

We are excited to announce the 8 recipients of our groundbreaking Direct Cash Transfers as Prevention Initiative: The Door, NYC; Henry Street Settlement, NYC; Lifeworks, Texas; Youth on Their Own, Arizona; AYA Youth Collective, Michigan; Youth Empowerment Success Services, Georgia; RYSE Youth Center, Contra Costa County, California;

What if You Could Prevent a Young Person from
Experiencing The Trauma of Homelessness?

ANNOUNCING THE DCT-P RFP INITIATIVE

Across the United States, unaccompanied youth homelessness is far too common. According to research by Chapin Hall, an estimated  4.2 million youth and young adults  experience homelessness, 700,000 of which are unaccompanied minors. At the same time, few, if any, interventions exist in most communities to prevent youth and young adult homelessness.

This initiative is designed to test and improve upon community models for supporting young people to thrive in safe, stable housing without needing to enter the homelessness system. We believe that by trusting young people, removing financial barriers to housing, and offering supportive services before becoming unhoused, we will see more young people avoid homelessness and stay housed long-term.

WHO IS THIS INITIATIVE FOR?

Through this pilot, we aim to generate evidence for designing successful prevention interventions for youth at risk of homelessness, and stand-up processes, procedures, and infrastructure that are geared for sustainability, scalability, and racial and 2SLGBTQ equity in diverse homelessness systems in the US. Point Source Youth seeks 4 lead community-based organization (CBO) partners who can support these objectives— 3 partners based anywhere in the country, and 1 partner based exclusively in NYC.

APPLICATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED FOR OUR PILOT PROGRAM

General RFP

Through this request for proposals (RFP), we aim to identify three lead community-based organization (CBO) partners for coordinating and implementing key aspects of the program and recruitment during the initiative’s pilot and initial evaluation phase.

New York City RFP

One New York City CBO, Henry Street Settlement, has already been selected to participate in this pilot. Through this request for proposals (RFP), we aim to identify one additional lead community-based organization (CBO) partner based in New York City for coordinating and implementing key aspects of the program and recruitment during the initiative’s pilot and initial evaluation phase.

Developing an Effective DCT-P Program: 4 steps

  • This project aims to place power and resources in the hands of young people, and trust that they know what they need to maintain stable and supportive housing. Support for young people should be youth-driven. Young people elevated the importance of centering the program on youth needs and preferences, particularly Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and 2SLGBTQ youth who face discrimination and exclusion through existing systems.

  • Participants encouraged setting this DCT-P up with clear and bold objectives: help youth sustainably avoid homelessness and get on paths to thriving, according to the paths they choose. Supportive services and design decisions should be designed towards these goals.

  • Youth at-risk of homelessness have diverse needs, preferences, and circumstances, and often need immediate access to resources to resolve a housing crisis. Providing simple, rapid, low-barrier payment delivery systems and supportive services makes the program easier and more efficient to implement.

  • Young people do not deserve homelessness, and this project aims to support communities to imagine and learn what it takes to systematically prevent young people from needing to spend even one day without a safe and stable place to thrive.

Demonstrated Impact

A Way Home Washington launched a similar program in several counties in Washington state in August 2020 called the “Homelessness Prevention and Diversion Fund” (HPDF).

To date, HPDF has helped nearly 1,000 young people access stable housing, housing more young people than any other housing program in each county where it is operational. After receiving the one-time payments ranging from $1,000 to $2,000, 93% percent of these young people did not return to homelessness after 12 months.

“We cannot housing-place our way to ending homelessness, we have to go to the source. Prevention has to be a key part of ending youth homelessness. Young people know exactly what they need to stay housed, our systems just need to be flexible enough to actually give it to them.”

— Ashley Barnes-Cocke
Director, Direct Cash Transfers- Prevention

 This initiative presented by Point Source Youth is supported by: Tipping Point, Raikes Foundation, Schultz Family Foundation, Oregon Department of Human Services, Trinity Church Wall Street, The NYC Fund to End Youth & Family Homelessness, and The American Family Insurance Institute for Corporate and Social Impact.