JBAY Helps Build a Bridge to Stable Housing

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“I was starting college at Sacramento State and needed help identifying a safe, reasonable housing placement option that wasn’t going to fall apart. Housing navigation could have helped me with this. While I waited for transitional housing to become available for two months, I was homeless. I failed my summer courses, and my mental health was bad.” 

Ajanique Dunlap was sharing her story of homelessness while in foster care with the Assembly Committee on Housing & Community Development on March 15. A Youth Advocate for John Burton Advocates for Youth (JBAY), Ajanique was speaking in support of Assembly Bill 413: “Addressing Foster Youth Homelessness”. 

AB 413, introduced by Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-District 19), would establish permanent funding for programs helping current and former foster youth to secure stable housing, while also providing training for social workers to help foster youth navigate the housing system. The proposed law would also provide a housing supplement for foster youth in counties with the highest rental costs. AB 413 is sponsored by JBAY and supported by 120 other organizations.

“California has taken great strides to address the alarming rates of homelessness experienced by foster youth,” Simone Tureck Lee, JBAY’s director of housing and health, told the hearing. “However, there is still work to do. Nearly one in five youth experience homelessness while in foster care between ages 19 and 21, and one in four experience homelessness after transitioning out of care between 21 and 23.”

COVID-19 has only worsened the problem for foster youth, highlighting the need for long-term housing solutions. According to a survey last July, 79% of current foster youth age 18-21 who were working at the onset of the COVID-19 crisis either lost their jobs or experienced a reduction in hours. 

Ajanique was fortunate to get into a transitional housing program right when COVID hit. “When I was laid off due to COVID from my campus job, the program was really supportive—they waived my portion of the rent, and they also helped me apply for unemployment insurance.”

As she told the committee, passing AB 413 into law would help provide foster youth with a safe route to a more stable future: “I’m not going to need help forever, but right now the assistance I receive is a very important and critical bridge to me becoming independent.”

The Assembly committee was very receptive to Ajanique’s message. AB413 was passed out of committee unanimously with a bipartisan vote of 8-0. 

For more information on Assembly Bill 413 and how to support it, visit: https://www.jbaforyouth.org/ab413.

Ten Months into the Pandemic, Congress Provides Relief for Older Youth in Foster Care

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The new year brought good news for foster youth. On December 27, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriation Act which included important pandemic relief for older youth in foster care.

John Burton Advocates for Youth (JBAY) advocated for this important funding as part of a large national coalition led by Philadelphia-based Juvenile Law Center.

The appropriations bill included $400 million in one-time funding for older youth in foster care. Of that total, California is expected to receive approximately $44 million.

JBAY is developing recommendations for elected officials about how California can best spend the newly available funding, together with fellow advocates from across the state. JBAY’s top priority is that the funding go directly to youth within 45 days, who we know are struggling with employment and housing during the pandemic.

According to JBAY Executive Director Amy Lemley, many foster youth are hanging on by a thread. “We’re in the tenth month of the pandemic. During this time, youth have done everything in their power stay afloat, going into debt and resorting to increasingly desperate measures,” said Lemley. “The effect of the pandemic is cumulative; we need to get this financial relief to young people as soon as possible.”

JBAY is also recommending that the funding is used to help young people who are on the wait list for the Chafee Education and Training Voucher (ETV), which provides up to $5,000 to current and former foster youth enrolled in post-secondary education, including career and technical education. There are currently over 1,600 foster youth who qualify but do not receive the Chafee ETV due to inadequate funds. The newly available funding would ensure these young people are able to stay enrolled in college.

Finally, JBAY is advocating that the funding helps the approximately 5,000 youth who will exit foster care in January 2021. The California State Legislature authorized youth to remain in foster care after age 21 until June 30, 2021 and Governor Newsom has proposed extending that date to January 2022. With the newly available federal funding, California can ensure these young people make a safe, supported transition during what will likely be a fragile, recovering economy and housing market.

JBAY Gears Up for Ambitious and Challenging Year of Policy Change

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It’s Thanksgiving week, but at John Burton Advocates for Youth (JBAY), we are already busy thinking about the New Year, when the California State Legislature will return and we can get back to the important work of improving policies for youth who have been homeless or in foster care. In 2021, we’ll be focusing on our three main issues: housing, education and health.

In housing, we’ll be fighting to maintain funding for youth who become homeless after exiting foster care by sustaining the Transitional Housing Program. The program is currently scheduled to end in December 2021, despite its effectiveness and the tremendous need for it: a recent study of former foster youth in California found that over a thousand youth are homeless and waiting for housing.

In education, JBAY will be focused on ensuring the most vulnerable young adults succeed in higher education, which is a critical path to long-term economic security. First, we are proposing to expand access to NextUp, a student support program at 45 community colleges. The program is highly effective, but its reach is limited to a narrow subset of foster youth. We’ll work to modify the eligibility to make an estimated 1,000 additional young people able to receive the support they need.

Also in education, JBAY will assist the tens of thousands of college students struggling with homelessness and food insecurity by advocating for the creation of basic needs centers across the state. These “one-stop-shops” offer students food, housing referrals, help with financial aid and more. The data show that helping students with these traditionally non-academic needs is critical if we want them to maintain enrollment and graduate.

Finally, in health, we will work to ensure youth in foster care have access to reproductive and sexual health services.

Pressing for these kinds of changes is never easy and it certainly won’t be in 2021, with the uncertainty of the pandemic and the related economic impact on the state budget. But we know that young people need us more than ever. Unlike most youth and young adults, those who have been homeless or in foster care don’t have the benefit of parents or an extended family to assist them during this challenging time. Thank you to JBAY supporters who make this work possible. Next stop: Sacramento!

JBAY Tackles Surge in Homeless Students

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At the age of 16, Luz Hernandez was living in a park in San Francisco after being abandoned by her father. She was eventually placed into foster care, but after aging out, she became homeless again and lived in a garage with no heat, running water or even a lock. She recalls her periods of homelessness as the darkest times in her young life. “I was moving from place to place every month. Being homeless not only affected my education but also me emotionally. I was alone.”

Hundreds of thousands of California students share Luz’s experience with homelessness, according to a new report released by researchers at UCLA. The report, titled “State of Crisis: Dismantling Student Homelessness in California”, reveals that almost 270,000 students in California’s K-12 schools were homeless in 2019. That’s an increase of 48 percent in a decade.

In addition, the report notes, one in every five students at a California Community College, one in every 10 at a California State University, and one in every 20 at the University of California are experiencing homelessness.

According to Amy Lemley, executive director of John Burton Advocates for Youth (JBAY), figures like these show why the organization is prioritizing homeless students. “JBAY continues to address homelessness among college students with a wide range of new policies and practices. But we are also increasing our focus on homelessness among K-to-12 students. As this report shows, there is a lot of work ahead.”

Luz showed what is possible with the right support and lots of determination. She enrolled in the City College of San Francisco and qualified for permanent, affordable housing. “I was receiving a lot of support: money for my books, tutors and priority registration,” recalls Luz. “I went from having a 1.5 GPA to having a 3.5 GPA. Programs such as the Burton Book Fund make a big difference in the performance of students.”

Luz’s progress continued as she transferred to San Francisco State University and, after graduating, worked as an intern for JBAY. She credits JBAY for the important role it played in her journey to stability, both through the reforms it made to the foster care system and youth homelessness programs, as well as the hands-on support it provided. “As a child I dreamed of being a different person than my family members. I wanted to be a person with goals. Through all my struggles and sacrifices, I have taught myself the value of a good education so I can pursue my dreams. Despite all my struggles and challenges, I am an unstoppable person. I hope to transform the foster care system into a better place, for people like myself.”

JBAY Housing Complex: A Shelter in the Storm During COVID-19

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‘Aging out’ of foster care is a challenge under the best of circumstances. Now add in the impacts of a global pandemic and devastated economy. It would be hard to imagine a more difficult time to be young—and without the support of an extended family.

Fortunately, 24 former foster youth in San Francisco have a shelter in the storm. They live in the John Burton Advocates for Youth Housing Complex.

Completed in 2018, the John Burton Advocates for Youth Housing Complex has 50 units of service-enriched affordable housing, including 24 homes for TAY—youth between the ages of 16 to 24 who are transitioning out of foster care. It is located in the Fillmore District of San Francisco and is part of the Booker T. Washington Community Service Center’s 70,000 square foot mixed-use facility, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.

John Burton Advocates for Youth provided the development with critically needed financial support to help complete construction. The complex also includes a childcare facility, youth programming space, recording studios, a gym, and community space. It supports its tenants and neighbors with recreation activities, educational support and vocational training, and senior clubs, as well as focusing on the guidance and development of its youth and young adults.

Marquis Engle is the Director of Programming for Teens and Transition Age Youth and has seen first-hand how youth in the housing program have been negatively impacted by the pandemic.

“COVID-19 and the recession caused a lot of challenges for all of us, but especially for former foster youth,” said Marquis. “Many have lost their jobs.”

To ensure young people stay on track, youth who live in the John Burton Advocates for Youth Housing Complex have access to a range of supports. This includes community-building events, such as vegan cooking and martial arts, as well as employment programs, such as an eight-week employment training program, where youth are paired with a technology company. Youth also receive one-on-one case management provided by First Place for Youth.

But the programs aren’t all work. Despite the unprecedented challenges of 2020, the Center is still drawing on the principles that have animated it since 1920. “A big goal of our programs is to deepen the relationships with the young people,” said Marquis. “We talk. We sing. We enjoy ourselves!”