About Us
The Youth Advisory Board is a body of youth that inform and advise the policies and practices that directly impacts young people experiencing homelessness or housing instability in Summit County, OH. The members of the board come from an array of diverse backgrounds and have a wide variety of experiences which they draw upon to help shape the local systems and services to be effective and make true positive impacts on the lives of local young residents. The YAB sponsors and attends different community functions and events involving itself in the community in a multitude of fun, useful, and effective ways.
We were awarded round 7 Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) funds of 1.46 million dollars for youth homelessness in Summit County and Barberton. With these funds four new housing programs were developed with the guidance of the Youth Advisory Board (YAB). These programs ensure that young individuals facing housing instability have access to safe, supportive, and sustainable housing solutions. The funding supports multiple initiatives, including:
- Transitional Rapid Rehousing – Temporary housing with supportive services to help young people transition to permanent stability.
- Rapid Rehousing – Immediate housing assistance paired with long-term stability resources.
- Youth Peer Navigators – Peer-led guidance and mentorship to help young individuals navigate the housing system.
- Host Home/Kinship Program – Connecting youth with supportive host families or kinship care to prevent and address homelessness.
The subrecipients that the SCCoC staff and YAB chose to implement these programs are:
- United Way Summit Medina – Rapid Rehousing
- Akron AIDS Collaborative – Rapid Rehousing
- Harmony House – Transitional Rapid Rehousing
- Humility of Mary Housing, Inc. – Transitional Rapid Rehousing
- SCCoC – Youth Peer Navigators & Host Homes/Kinship
The Youth Advisory Board (YAB) was also awarded $166,000 in Youth Homelessness System Improvement (YHSI) funding after co-authoring a grant with COHHIO. This funding will support our ongoing efforts to address youth homelessness and advance the goals outlined in our Coordinated Community Plan (CCP).