Advocacy

Safe Place for Youth is preventing and ending youth homelessness in Los Angeles.

SPY’s Advocacy Program plays a critical role in closing systems gaps, uplifting the voices of young people, creating opportunities for direct advocacy by young people, ensuring adequate funding for youth-specific services, and ensuring that services and systems meet the unique needs of youth. By integrating policy work with direct action, building youth power, and maintaining strong institutional relationships, SPY ensures that interventions to address youth homelessness have a lasting impact.

 
The SPY Report
Advocate for Youth-Specific Funding
Advocacy
Advocate for Youth-Specific Funding
Advocacy

Young people experiencing homelessness need youth-focused interventions to help them break the cycle of poverty and housing insecurity. General adult homeless policy doesn’t cut it for our youth. As of today, there is no dedicated youth-specific funding set aside with LACAHSA (Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency), one of the newest and largest providers of homelessness services funding.

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Advocacy
SPY Squad: Youth Voices Enacting Change
Advocacy
SPY Squad: Youth Voices Enacting Change
Advocacy

At the core of Safe Place for Youth’s services is a team of dedicated Youth Advocates that go by the name of SPY Squad. This youth-led group is shaping the future of homeless services in Los Angeles. SPY Squad members draw on their lived experiences to take action. Their goal is systemic change. 

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Advocacy
 

Our Successes

  • SPY led efforts to expand access to federal housing vouchers for youth exiting foster care, including Family Unification Program (FUP) and Foster Youth to Independence (FYI) vouchers. SPY’s leadership resulted in a 200% increase in the number of FYI vouchers available Countywide, and raised the number of participating Housing Authorities from 2 to 15.

  • SPY served on the organizing committee for the campaign to pass Measure A which expands funding for housing and support services, including leading portions of the endorsement strategy and collecting voter signatures to move the measure forward.

  • When youth-specific funding was cut in the Measure A funding recommendations, SPY organized the community in a campaign to preserve this critical funding. Through the collective effort of everyone who spoke out and stood alongside SPY, the LA County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to restore the majority of youth homeless services funding in the Measure A budget.

  • SPY Squad: SPY supports youth advocacy and leadership through our SPY Squad youth advocates program, who complete a one year program, where they develop public speaking and advocacy skills.

    • Provides a paid platform for SPY youth to provide feedback on services, provide public education, advise on public policy, and represent their peers in community and governmental settings.

    • Provides direct advocacy opportunities for youth to engage with elected officials and decision-makers at the local, state, and federal level.

Our Priorities

  • Advocating for increased funding for housing and supportive services for youth experiencing homelessness, and funding set-asides in public sources of homelessness funding at every level.

  • Increasing public awareness about the unique needs of homeless youth and highlight the importance of increased youth specific services and housing.

  • Uplifting youth voices by creating opportunities for youth to share their stories, perspectives, and experiences directly with policy makers.

  • Ensuring youth homeless service provider feedback is being incorporated in housing and homelessness policy.

Active Campaigns & Coalition Work and National Reach

  • SPY serves on the steering committee of the Greater LA Coalition on Homelessness, a coalition of over 60 service providers - Shaping policy, funding and systems priorities in Los Angeles.

  • SPY serves as a Co-Lead for the Provider Advocacy & Policy Roundtable – a convening of service provider advocacy staff who work to strengthen collaboration on regional policy priorities.

  • SPY serves as a CA State Coordinator for the National Alliance to End Homelessness Capitol Hill Day - Coordinating a delegation (including youth) to advocate on housing and homelessness legislative priorities with members of Congress.

Past Campaigns