Discussion: Proposal Selection Process Youth Homeless Shelter

Running head: COMMUNITY YOUTH HOMELESS SHELTER

COMMUNITY YOUTH HOMELESS SHELTER

Community Youth Homeless Shelter

Alexis Lowe

Walden University

Professor Nicole Hamilton

HUMN 6207- Grant Writing

May 8, 2019

Introduction

The issue of homelessness among young people has been challenged especially with the increasing cost of housing. The problem is becoming more worse when young people are in schools and affect their educational programs. Homelessness stresses young people so much because after carrying out their activities during the day, they will not find somewhere to rest at night. There are many challenges which are faced by homeless youths. Some of them feel that they are hopeless and despondent and sometimes can turn to the use of drugs and alcohol. Abuse of drugs contributes to poor interaction with the department of law enforcement hence interruption of the success of the students. Drug abuse is linked to other criminal activities because these young people will have to look for ways of getting money to buy drugs. It also increases chances of sexual harassment and transmission of diseases (Sieving et al, 2017). Most people who cannot afford shelter, it will be difficult for them to afford food. They will have poor health and nutrition. The project will be focusing on Tri-Cities which are not an exception of homelessness problems. A study which was done in Tri-city showed that 34 percent of the population was living with their families or friends. The chances of these friends or families kicking them out are high since they are termed as a burden to them. Therefore, the project proposal will look at the issue of the homeless and how it can be addressed to build a stable future for youths. The project will ensure that homeless youths are provided with an integrated place where they can connect to the resource and services. The project wills also ensuring that there is a resource center which is located at each of the three cities that is Kennewick, Richland, and Pasco. The resource centers will help in identifying, tracking and reporting cases of homeless among youths.

Need statement

The purpose of the project is to come up with strategies to address homeless among youths in Tri-cities. Youths are faced with housing challenges because most of them do not have adequate finances to cater for their school fees, food, and accommodation. Some are living with their friends and families while others are living in the streets. Live is not easy when one is homeless because he or she is hopeless about the future and things which might happen in life (Utržan et al, 2017). Homeless youths suffer from depression and they are more likely to engage in criminal behaviors. Therefore, the research will raise awareness on the issue of homelessness among youths. It will lead to the establishment of centers which will be reliable for identifying and tracking issues of homeless among youths. Creation of awareness of homelessness among youths will assist in understanding the challenges which they are facing. Homeless youths will be able to give their response to the problems because they are the one who is facing the challenges. Homeless youths need mainstreaming of the services which will enable has their long term success in the future. Homeless youths need to be supported by ensuring that they continue with their studies and they secure good jobs which they can support themselves.

Goals and objectives

To introduce targeted prevention measures which assist in supporting youths who experience the problem of homelessness. This includes diversion of shelter so that all the youths who are living in the streets have shelter. When youths have housing, it will be easy to address other problems which are facing homelessness youths. A stable housing makes the mind to be stable and it becomes easy to look for a job which will sustain other needs.

To ensure that there is access to education, health services, employment, and other services. Recurrent of homelessness can result when education, education, and employment of the young people are not checked. Stability of a person forms around the access of these services and without them it becomes difficult to address them (Lou et al, 2018). Healthcare services are essential for homeless youths so that they treated from the diseases they are suffering from. Some of them suffer from different diseases due to exposure to poor nutrition and sexual abuse. They need proper assessment and diagnosis so that their health problems are well addressed. Due to homeless, some of the youths could not continue with their education and the project will create awareness on the areas where such kind of youths can be assisted.

To establish a resource center that will be identifying, tracking and reporting issues of homelessness among youths. The resource center will handle issues related to youth homelessness and ensure that that they find a safe place to stay. After identification and tracking of the issues, homeless youths will be connected with their families or people who can assist them. Social connectedness is very important because it assists in preventing depression and lowliness. Some of the youths who are experiencing homelessness live in the street and they do not know any member of their families. Connecting homeless youths with their families restore joy to them and ensure that they live a good life. Their families will assist them and ensure that they have gone back to their lives.

Methodology and evaluation plans

The study will be carried out in Tri-cities that are Kennewick, Richland, and Pasco. The population for the will be chosen randomly from the three cities and every homeless youth will have an equal chance of participating. The methods that will be used in the study ensure that there is free interaction with the homelessness youths so that their problems can be adequately addressed. The research will be mainly focusing on the youths in Tri-Cities who have experienced homelessness. The study will take six months for the three cities and it will ensure that researchers have quality time to collect all important information which is required to address the issues.

The study will employ a participatory method which will be employed in collecting data on the challenges which are faced by homelessness youths. They will give their ideal experience on the state of homelessness and how it is associated with other problems which end up affecting their lives. Homeless youths who will participate through narrating their experience will be chosen randomly. The group will be chosen from those who have volunteered to participate. In participatory approach focused group discussion will be used. Focused group discussion will involve gathering a group of the homelessness youths in each of the city. The topic of discussion will be the problem of social exclusion from the families and how it has contributed to the homeless state (Schwan et al, 2018). Social exclusion, in this case, will aim at understanding the deprivation and marginalization of the young people. Social exclusion of the youths has deprived them education because there is no support from the family members. The relationship between social exclusion and education will be done by analyzing how the two concepts affect each other. Through drawing the analysis, one will be able to understand areas which need to address so that social exclusion does not take place and many of the young people remain united to their families.

In the focused discussion, homelessness youths will explain the best response which they think should be taken to address the issue. They will be able to give the views and options on the best solutions which they think should be incorporated by the government, private sectors and nonprofit organizations to end homelessness among youths. Given the opportunity to discuss it will be easy to understand how they think the problem should be handled and how the government has articulated strategies to deal with the matter. The study will collaborate with the local authority and chiefs to ensure that young people who are facing homeless problems will be able to identify.

In the focused discussion, expertise will educate the homeless youths on ways of handling the hard situation rather than becoming homeless and being unable to cater to personal needs. The project will also collaborate with the healthcare facilities so that homeless youths who have urgent health needs are immediately attended. Youths will know that when they have problems in their lives they can be solved through sharing their problems rather than being hopeless in life. There are people and organizations that will be willing to assists and they should not suffer in the street. Students who have become homeless and unable to pay their schools fees will be enlightened on where they can seek help when things are hard for them (Sutherland, 2016). The study will also use an interview with the volunteers who have worked with the homeless youths and the challenges they face while addressing their issues. The collaboration will include volunteer from all cities and an interview will be conducted with them. These volunteers know well the strategies which can easily solve the issues since they have been working with the homeless youths. Some of the members of the research team are people who were helped after becoming homeless for quite some time and they understand the problems very well. This will make interaction with homelessness youths very easy. In data collection from those who had experienced the state of homelessness and they have been assisted will share their experience with homelessness currently so that they feel free to share their stories as well. Data collection will also entail encouraging them to move to stable housing by seeking help from relevant people.

The data will also be collected from secondary sources such as journal and books. There are other researchers who have done a study on homeless among youths in Tri-cities and this study will ensure that the information is well captured. The information will be keenly reviewed to ensure that information on the past state of homelessness is captured. It will form a basis for the recommendation and strategies which should be taken to address the issues of homelessness in the Tri-cities. If the number of homelessness youths is increasing, then the strategies to solve the issues will have to be changed. The questionnaire will be also used in collecting data on the age of homelessness youths. It will include factors which contributed to them being homeless and the duration which have stayed in the condition of the homeless. It will also include other personal questions on whether they are sexually active and how do they get the partners of engaging in sexual activities. The names of those involved in answering questionnaires will not be revealed and a high level of confidentiality will be maintained. The data will be also collected on how frequently they use condoms during their sexual intercourse. The aim of this will be assessing their probability of contracting diseases especially sexually transmitted diseases. The questionnaires will also inquire how many times they have been sexually abused or harassed. It will also inquire on whether they reported the case to the police and the actions which were taken if they reported to the police. Understanding the cases of sexual abuse and harassment among homelessness youths in Tri-Cities will assist in knowing the safety of the homeless youths and this will include both females and males. The questionnaire will also entail details on whether the homeless youths have whereabouts of their family members especially those living in the streets and whether they wish to be reunited with their families. The research method that will be used in the study such as interview, questionnaires and focused group discussion will include all the participants who had been selected randomly.

Budget, budget narrative, and sustainability plan

It includes all the cost which will be incurred in carrying the whole project and ensuring that adequate data has been gathered. The money will be used for the establishment of the new centers that will be used in identification, tracking and reporting on the issues of homelessness among youths. The budget includes cost for researchers, equipment which will be used in the process of data collection and construction of the buildings. The total that will be incurred in the whole project is $ 4,012,938 and the amount is expected to cover the whole process in the Tri-Cities. The costs of consultation for the whole project $ 2,750. The consultation will be done in the three cities and it will involve all the relevant officials in the cities (Robinson, 2016). The total amount which will be required for the contracts is $ 3, 456,000. The contract cost for building new houses for the homeless in the Tri-Cities will include everything that is needed in the construction of the new buildings as well as renovating the old ones. This includes buying the materials which will be used, paying the contractors and the labor that will be used in the process. The cost for elevators, drainage system from the building areas, kitchenware, painting, and water piping. The cost traveling will be $10, 000 in the course of the whole project and there will be $ 883 that will be incurred for the travel fuels.

Some of the equipment which will be purchased to be used in the Tri-Cities are safety equipment that will be utilized by the staffs. Safety is very important for the workers and needs to be given key consideration. It will also entail safety of the researchers who will be attending the street homeless youths. Computers, laptops, desktops, printers will be also be purchased to be used in the office of the resources centers for reporting homelessness issues related to youths. The cost will also be $1000 and the expenses for the supply will be $3, 500. The supplies for these items include printing papers, stationery, files, and printers. Other expenses will include electric bills, equipment that is used in the first aid, insurances and this will be totaling $ 9, 000. Another cost will be incurred in the payment of the staffs and researchers. There will be a project manager who will ensure that all activities run accordingly in the organization. The project will also be evaluated after it has been completed and project evaluator will be paid for checking whether the project has been completed according to the standards and to the terms and conditions. The project director will ensure that all activities during the project period are carried out very well. The project coordinator will be paid $9,822, clinic coordinator $7, 124 who will ensure that the safety issues and health matters of the homeless youths in the Tri-Cities have been well covered. Project evaluator will also be paid $ 7,124 while the secretary will be paid $ 6, 978. They will also be enumerated for sitting allowance when they will be planning activities of the project. The project will take six months and the planned budget will cover all those activities.

Personnel Name	Personnel Title	Dollar Amount Requested for Salary	Dollar Amount Requested for Fringe Benefits	Grand Total Dollar Amount Requested	total for the whole project
Dr. Johnson Davis	Project Director	$ 9,822	$ 500	$ 10,322	$ 123, 864
Eng. Trevor Ramsey	Project Coordinator	$ 5542	$ 400	$ 6942	$ 83,304
Prof. Nancy Williams	Clinical Coordinator	$ 7587	$ 345	$ 7932	$95, 184
Prof. George Williams	Academic Coordinator	$ 4357	$ 253	$ 4,600	$ 55, 200
Mrs. Joel	Project Evaluator	$ 7124	$ 345	$ 7469	$ 89,628
Name #6	Project Secretary	$ 6978	$ 231	$ 6209	$ 74,504
Consultant Costs	n/a	$ 2,750	n/a		$ 2,750
Contracts	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	$ 3,456, 000
Staff Travel	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	$ 10,000
Itemized Equipment	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	$ 10,000
Supplies (itemize by category)	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	$ 3500
Expenses insurance	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	$ 9,000
Subtotals		$41, 410	$2,074	$43, 474	$521,688
Grand Total Direct Costs= 4,012,938

Conclusion

Homelessness is a challenge which is experienced by many youths in Tri-Cities and needs to be addressed. The project will address these problems which are faced by homeless youths in Tri-Cities and come up with strategies of dealing with them. Some of the problems include drug abuse, poor health and nutrition, sexual abuse and harassment and depression. The objectives and goals of the project will ensure that homeless youths are provided with shelters, awareness is created on ways of handling homeless state and ensuring that no one suffers due to lack of housing. A resource center will also be identified for identifying and reporting cases of homelessness. The data will be collected using various participatory approaches such as interview and focused group discussion. The individual who will be participating will be randomly chosen and every homelessness youth will have an equal chance of being chosen. Questionnaire s will also be used in addressing personal data especially on the age, causal factors to being homeless and how they have sexually abused or harassed. The total budget of which project will be $ 4,012,938 and it accommodates for all activities which have been planned in the project.

References

Lou, M., Wang, Q., Stumpf, J., & Ravdin, J. (2018). HIV+ Youth in the Twin Cities may be Engaged in Case Management but not Retained in Medical Care.

Monn, A. R., Narayan, A. J., Kalstabakken, A. W., Schubert, E. C., & Masten, A. S. (2017). Executive function and parenting in the context of homelessness. Journal of Family Psychology, 31(1), 61.

Robinson, J. L. (2016). Lacking the Safeguards of Home: Experiences of Youth Homelessness. Sociology of Home: Belonging, Community, and Place in the Canadian Context, 133.

Schwan, K., French, D., Gaetz, S., Ward, A., Akerman, J., & Redman, M. (2018). Preventing youth homelessness. Homeless Hub.

Sieving, R. E., McRee, A. L., McMorris, B. J., Shlafer, R. J., Gower, A. L., Kapa, H. M., ... & Resnick, M. D. (2017). Youth-adult connectedness:: a key protective factor for adolescent health. American journal of preventive medicine, 52(3), S275-S278.

Sutherland, S. P. (2016). Transitional Planning and Homelessness of Youths Emancipated From the Child Welfare System (Doctoral dissertation, Walden University).

Utržan, D. S., Piehler, T. F., Gewirtz, A. H., & August, G. J. (2017). Stressful life events and perceived parental control in formerly homeless families: Impact on child-internalizing symptoms. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 87(3), 317.