Georgia advocates push youth-focused solutions to homelessness crisis

Georgia advocates are fighting for a unique response to homelessness among young adults due to their situation being different than older adults.

Advocates and service providers shared strategies for helping young people experiencing homelessness at the Atlanta Thrive Summit held earlier this month.

Bidemi Animashaun is the youth project manager at Partners for HOME, which oversees part of Atlanta’s homeless response system. She said she experienced homelessness twice in her early 20s while in college.

“I was having this issue where I was unhoused and essentially my institution and the systems that were supposed to catch me failed me,” Animashaun said. “So I could only imagine what was also happening to other young people who weren’t in school. How were they navigating that situation?”

Her experience encouraged her to pursue a political science degree, and she now leads the Atlanta Youth Action Board to produce an annual resource guide for unhoused youth. She said solutions need to be tailored to young people’s needs.

Around 50% of young people aging out of foster care will experience homelessness within six months, according to Covenant House Georgia.

Amanda Jaquez is a senior associate with the Atlanta Civic Site of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. She said housing is the place to start.

“Housing is foundational,” Jaquez said. “If you don’t have safe, stable housing, you’re not gonna achieve any of your other educational, financial stability, or health goals.”

Young adults face unique barriers and need help navigating complex systems, she said.

The Georgia Department of Community Affairs website has resources for unhoused people and links to organizations that can help.