Three Communities Launch 100-Day Challenges to #EndYouthHomelessness

The Rapid Results Institute and A Way Home America (AWHA) announced today that Austin, Cleveland and Los Angeles will launch 100-day challenges to accelerate efforts to end youth homelessness in their communities.

Each community will receive support from The Rapid Results Institute (RRI) to drive toward this ambitious goal over 100 days starting September 7.

Rapid Results President, Nadim Matta said, ” We are honored to partner with A Way Home America in helping to #endyouthhomelessness and bring our 100-day choreography to this movement.”

RRI’s past challenges around veteran homelessness have shown that the limited timeframe provides the urgency needed to identify, innovate and fuel effective approaches for communities. The challenges announced today are part of the national movement to end youth homelessness, represented by A Way Home America , with the support of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Casey Family Programs, Melville Charitable Trust and Raikes Foundation.

Megan Gibbard, the Director of AWHA, is grateful for the communities who have stepped forward to lead the nation, “Austin, Cuyahoga County and Los Angeles are brave and innovative communities who face the urgency around ending youth homelessness every day. I am looking forward to learning from them as they tackle youth homelessness in ways we didn’t think possible – sharing lessons learned with the country.”

Rafael López, Commissioner of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said “The Department of Health and Human Services is thrilled to support these unique 100-day challenges because we have no time to waste in generating solutions. The federal government is committed to ending youth and family homelessness by 2020. We need to support and accelerate community generated ideas to deliver better results. ”  

“We are fully committed to A Way Home America’s goal of ending youth homelessness by 2020,” said Janice Elliott, Executive Director of the Melville Charitable Trust. “To achieve this ambitious goal, we know we need big, bold, and creative ideas.”

“Thousands of young people across our country will spend tonight alone without a safe place to sleep. A crisis of this magnitude requires a level of urgency to match, which is why The Rapid Results Institute’s 100-day challenge approach is such a perfect fit,” said Katie Hong, youth homelessness strategy director at the Raikes Foundation. “These communities will be at the leading edge of innovation that others across the country can learn from as we help this often hidden homelessness population.” 

Organizations and communities interested in following the lessons learned by the three communities on their Youth Homelessness 100-Day Challenge should sign up to receive news from AWHA at www.awayhomeamerica.org.