Our Impact in 2024: Preventing and Ending Youth Homelessness
Our Mission
At A Place 4 Me, we are on a mission to prevent and end youth homelessness in Cuyahoga County. We believe that every youth and young adult deserves a place to call home. Every day, we work to make our vision a reality through Direct Services, Authentic Youth Engagement, and Systems Change. Here’s how A Place 4 Me supported youth and young adults in 2024!
Our Impact
Through our Navigation Program, we provided critical support to 493 youth and young adults, helping them secure housing, employment, education, and essential services. Our Navigation Team worked to ensure every young person experiencing homelessness, housing instability, and/or foster care had access to the resources they needed to reach their aspirations. Our Youth Navigation Team documented more than 2,000 instances of housing assistance to young adults experiencing homelessness or housing instability.
We are especially committed to supporting young adult parents. In 2024, 39% of the young adults we served in our Navigation Program were parenting or expecting children. In addition, 75% of participants identified as female and 23% had experience in the foster care system.
Our Opportunity Passport program, designed to economically empower youth and young adults with experience in the foster care system, supported 118 young people with financial literacy training and asset-building. Youth and young adults aged 14 to 25 with experience in the foster care system are eligible to enroll in our financial literacy program. Participants learn about credit, savings, loans, and more. After completing the program, participants receive support in opening a bank account in their own name. Critically, A Place 4 Me matches their savings dollar-for-dollar for the purchase of assets to build their future. Participants can use these matching funds for housing, education, healthcare, or credit-building.
About Our Work
At A Place 4 Me, we approach our work through three key areas: Direct Services, Systems Change, and Authentic Youth Engagement. These areas intersect to create a comprehensive response to youth homelessness:
• Direct Services: We provide immediate and long-term support to young people, ensuring they have access to stable housing and essential services.
• Systems Change: We advocate for policy changes and community collaboration to create sustainable solutions that prevent youth homelessness.
• Authentic Youth Engagement: We uplift and empower young people with lived experience in homelessness, ensuring their voices shape our programs, policies, and decisions. We believe that those with lived experience in homelessness are the experts on what it takes to end it.
YOU Can Help!
As we look ahead, we remain dedicated to building a future where no young person experiences homelessness. Instead, we want every young person to reach their aspirations. Our work is made possible by our community, partners, and supporters who believe in this mission.
Join us on our mission! Follow us on social media, visit our website, sign up for email updates, or donate to support our work. Together, we can ensure that every young person in Cuyahoga County has a place to call home.
