Homeless Youth Alliance (HYA) has existed since 2006. Homeless Youth Alliance had previously established a strong presence in the Haight for many years through its predecessor, the Haight Ashbury Youth Outreach Team (HAYOT), and through its sister organization, San Francisco Needle Exchange (SFNE).

Our Program

Led by Executive Director Mary Howe, Homeless Youth Alliance provides tools, support, and opportunities to overcome the root causes of poverty that homeless youth face in their daily lives. We develop relationships with youth and young adults 13-29 years of age who live on the street in the Haight Ashbury district of San Francisco. Many of these homeless youth come to the Haight seeking refuge from abusive families, alienating foster care placements, group home situations, and juvenile justice system involvement.

HYA offers a temporary reprieve from the street, and by building trust and offering strategic support, HYA creates the foundation for life-changing steps whenever our participants are ready to make them.

Trust-Building Tools: Outreach and Drop-In Center

Our two primary techniques for building trusting relationships with youth are street-based outreach and our drop-in center.

Outreach

Every day, our staff travel through the neighborhood distributing snacks, safer sex supplies, and hygiene kits. Along with these materials, outreach counselors distribute educational materials about healthier lifestyle choices and behavioral practices.

Drop-In Center

Homeless Youth Alliance’s drop-in center is at the core of our services and is open for four hours per day, Monday through Friday. The center provides a safe place away from the pressures and politics of the street. Participants use the center to eat, use bathrooms, phones, and computers, receive mail, and address other needs. Staff routinely assist participants in obtaining their birth certificates and California identification cards, and writing résumés in order to help participants obtain employment. The drop-in center also functions as a referral center, as staff regularly help participants find appropriate medical care, public benefits, detox and substance use rehabilitation services, service tags and veterinary services for their dogs, and innumerable other services.

Cuts Would Cripple HIV-Prevention Services to Homeless Youth

While our sister program, San Francisco Needle Exchange, did not bear the brunt of the City budget cuts, Homeless Youth Alliance is susceptible to a proposed cut of $120,000, a quarter of our yearly budget. The cuts are directed at services for non-IV drug users.

The erroneous assumption is that non-IV drug users are at lower risk for HIV. Long-term reality proves this to be mistaken.

The population we serve are homeless youth, some of whom are IV drug users, some of whom are not. The line between the two is small and permeable. The homeless youth we see are vulnerable to a number of factors that put them at risk for HIV.

Much of the work we do at HYA involves building a strong educated community so our clients are better prepared to take care of themselves and each other. Cutting services for our non-IDU clients means practicing bad public health practice and even worse HIV prevention. HYA sees many clients who do not inject drugs at the moment, but who may begin injecting later in life.

The education and community they find at HYA will enable these clients to know how to protect themselves from HIV.

Moreover, cutting hours and staff to accommodate a smaller budget will mean that we will not be able to provide the level of case management, support, and services on a daily basis to a population that dearly needs those things. Cultivating a sense of safety, community, and belonging is a real HIV prevention strategy.

Homeless youth who come to HYA become empowered to make healthier choices, and are supported by a larger group that can help them to see value in their lives. Thank you for reading this description of the services of Homeless Youth Alliance.

clarabrandt

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