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November is National Homeless Youth Awareness Month

In 2007, Congress recognized November as National Homeless Youth Awareness Month (NHYAM). Awareness is an important first step in creating change, says Daniel Narváez Zavala, executive director of Building Changes, an organization focused on advancing equitable responses to homelessness in Washington.

Zavala says one aspect of homelessness they’re often striving to bring awareness to is simply the public’s definition of “homelessness.” He notes that our society has created an archetype of what homelessness looks like, but that narrow view can leave a lot of affected populations—like youth and families—unrecognized and underserved.

“Homelessness is not a monolith,” Zavala says. “We need to understand the whole state of homelessness and who is represented in that while recognizing everyone deserves a humane response that allows them housing and access to the services they need.”

According to a 2003 report from the Department of Commerce, at least 13,000 young people, ages 12 to 24, are on the street or in unsafe or unstable housing situations. The same report finds that nearly 15% of young people experience homelessness within a year of exiting a public system; and one in five who exit foster care experience homelessness.

“At Building Changes, we often say: ‘homeless is homeless is homeless,’” Zavala says. “It’s the notion that housing instability—whether people are living in a car, on the street, in a shelter or on someone’s couch—ultimately has a traumatic impact on educational outcomes, health outcomes, general wellbeing and ability to thrive.”

The challenges may feel intractable, but there are bright spots of progress, Zavala says. “We’ve seen a 40% reduction in homelessness in Washington state in the past six years, which is huge.”

He points to a few examples of success across the state: in 2024, the Kelso School District graduated all its students who were experiencing homelessness. He also notes the impact of the Homeless Student Stability Program (HSSP), which awards grants to community organizations (through the Department of Commerce) and school districts (through OSPI) to create partnerships between housing support services and schools.

Building Changes has long played a role in supporting HSSP by facilitating partnerships, providing training and technical assistance to grantees, and advocating to bolster the program. “Washington is a national leader in the amount of funding we put toward student homelessness,” Zavala said. “We’ve invested in programs and policies that have helped improve graduation rates for students experiencing homelessness at a faster rate compared to their housed peers.”

For practitioners looking to learn more, Zavala offers a few resources from Building Changes as a great jumping off point: