Coalition Brand Elements

In order to keep our messages and graphic image consistent wherever it appears, we’ve undertaken a design standards program in addition to the Coalition logo redesign. Organizations that wish to make a presentation using Coalition messages and elements must agree to do this consistent with the Charter that was created in 2019 for all Coalition communications. Once you’ve read through the charter and committed to our standards, we’ll share the link for downloading electronic files. Questions? Please contact Ashley Halladay-Schmandt.

Coalition Logos

We’ve build a program of identity elements that cover the categories of homelessness defined by HUD. Logos include Coalition, Youth, Veteran, Family, Chronic and Domestic Violence Survivors. Formats include full color, PNG, JPG and EPS files for a variety of communication types.

Youth PPT Presentation

We’d like all presentations to End Youth Homelessness to begin with the standard language that the Coalition has created. This 4-panel presentation contains the latest statistics to kickoff your initiative consistent with other Coalition partners.

Print & Social Media

All sorts of great ideas to spread the word about the Coalition’s mission, as well as ways to connect youth to homelessness prevention services. Includes business cards, flyers, advertising banners and an animated GIF banner for the Web.

The Work to End Youth Homelessness
Communications Charter

Youth Homelesness Team Responsibilities

• As a participant in the coalition, you represent your agency and its capabilities in ways that may differ from others in your network. With respect to our efforts as a team, you commit to use the specific language and definitions to which we’ve collectively agreed as you develop different tools for communicating to a variety of audiences.

• You agree to test this language with your audiences and share feedback with the group, so that the Google Drive is a repository for shared learning as well as tools.

• As team members develop their own program communications, you commit to placing them on the shared Google Drive for other team members’ reference so that we can develop an understanding of the messages being shared on behalf of the Coalition.

Youth Homelessness Team Rights

• You have the right to question a message and its appropriateness for a given type of communication, bringing your findings to the group for their review

• You have a right to come together to redirect agencies that have signed this agreement whose messaging is tracking in a different direction.

• You have a right to recruit agencies and individuals to this team

• You have a right to remove agencies and individuals from this team

Youth Homelessness Messaging

We work together so that every youth and young adult has safe, appropriate and permanent housing. Given this basic foundation, they will be better able to lead a healthy, productive life, reaching their fullest potential. For those who experience homelessness, our shared goal is to make these occurrences rare, brief and one-time.

As a nation and a community, homeless youth are our shared responsibility. In a given year, it’s estimated over half a million unaccompanied youth experience a homeless episode of longer than one week; more than half are under age 18.

In 2018 there were 191 homeless youth in our 10-county region. Of those:

• 38 were under age 18;

• 55 were survivors of domestic violence;

• 58 identify as disabled; and

• 84 had experienced homelessness two or more times in the past three years.

These represent the confirmed cases in our region; we know there are many more housing insecure youth than are reported.For those who experience homelessness, our shared goal is to make these occurrences rare, brief and one-time. 

We believe that young people with lived experience are experts and through their expertise we can help empower them to do the following: build community awareness, influence policy makers, educate and connect peers to available resources.

One of the primary problems we share is that youth don’t necessarily identify as “homeless,” even though they may be in an unsafe living situation or have nowhere to go. They have little knowledge of the systems of support that exist to stably and safely house them. Our role in this project is one of outreach: using consistent inter-agency messaging, we will all build a clear understanding of the terminology, policies, tools and behaviors required for outreach to youth that face housing instability.

We will amplify the voices of youth through these messages, educating the community on ways to identify at-risk youth and, as trusted helping adults, share our awareness of the interventions available to them. Using data and stories, we will bring legislators, policy and decision makers to an understanding of the need for affordable housing. Our YAB, through its training and outreach, will also share this awareness through their extensive peer networks.

As we work together in this effort, all youth* will be respected and supported in their quest for safe, healthy and supportive housing - so that ultimately, they’ll be empowered to create stronger communities and end the cycle of housing insecurity. 

*We unapologetically center the voices and experiences of LGBTQ youth and youth of color while upholding that all of us have many identities.