Local Cross System Collaboratives: Addressing Youth Homelessness Through Collaboration and Youth Leadership
INTRODUCTION
If you are reading this, you likely have already taken the first step towards creating a Local Cross System Collaborative (LCSC) to address youth homelessness in your community. This resource will guide you through turning that desire for change into better outcomes for youth in your community by bringing together and collaborating with other stakeholders, including the youth and young adults with lived experience.
Stage 1 includes the logistical and practical elements to be addressed in the earliest stages of your work. Although many individuals and organizations should come together to form an LCSC, the group should have a designated entity in charge of coordination, including managing the financial aspects of the work. We will refer to that organization as a lead or host organization; that organization will also likely be doing (and funding) most of the work.
Stage 2 involves forming and building capacity for your Youth Action Board (YAB). Centering youth and young adults with relevant lived experience is essential to true change. The YAB should be recruited early in your process because its members will serve as co-leaders for the following Stages.
Stage 3 is when all relevant stakeholders come together, including partners across key youth-serving sectors. In stage 3, these stakeholders should work to reach a consensus on common goals and strategies.
Stage 4 involves building relationships within the LCSC while refining the goals and strategies discussed earlier to design and develop a plan for implementing effective and practical solutions.
Stage 5 includes implementing solutions and a process for re-adjusting strategies as the group learns more about how they are working in your community.
