State Office of Homeless Youth outlines progress, gaps and rural challenges

Eija Araya, interim director of the Office of Homeless Youth, told the Human Services, Youth, & Early Learning committee that the office tracks a decade of growth while pointing to remaining service gaps.

OHY was created by the Homeless Youth Act (2SSB 5404) in 2015, Araya said; the office began with an initial allocation of $14,431,000 and now manages roughly $90,000,000 across about 190 contracts and 21 programs. OHY’s work covers six program categories the office described as: prevention, support services, community-based initiatives, youth residential programs (for ages 12–17), young-adult housing programs (ages 18–24), and crisis response.

Araya summarized the office’s goals as improving access to stable housing, family reconciliation, permanent connections, education and employment, and social and emotional well-being. She told lawmakers OHY measures grantee performance through the statewide Homelessness Management Information System and requires grantees to file narrative progress reports every six months. “We promote meaningful collaboration with youth and young adults,” she said, listing partnerships with the Mockingbird Society and federal-funded Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program initiatives.

Araya presented data showing reductions in youth homelessness over several years and persistent disparities: she said 15,380 young people accessed the homelessness system in 2022, that youth counts fell from about 23,961 in 2016 to about 14,410 in 2022, and that roughly half of system users identify as Black, Indigenous or people of color (BIPOC). She said about 9% identified as LGBTQ+, roughly 4% as gender-expansive, 19% were minors, 12% were pregnant or parenting, and 36% reported a disability. Araya emphasized that rural counties have proportionally higher rates of youth using the homeless system and cited Columbia County as an example with a rate she described as “six times higher than the state average.”

Committee members asked about the governor’s budget and rural service gaps. Ted Kelleher, interim assistant director of the housing division (present with Araya), told the committee that, “in broad strokes, the governor’s budget funds the ongoing activities at the full level,” while noting that some one-time pandemic-era funds will not continue. Araya and Kelleher said they would follow up with committee staff on specific budget line-item questions.

Lawmakers and the witnesses discussed operational challenges. Araya said there is a shortage of affordable, age-appropriate housing and a lack of real-time data to distribute limited resources. She urged expansion of host-home programs and more flexible funds for minors, and said shelters need to be more accommodating of young people who bring pets. “We really need to be more humble and understand that we can build shelters where homeless youth can bring their pets as well,” Araya said, explaining that requirement to surrender a companion pet can push a young person to sleep in a car rather than enter a shelter.

Araya also highlighted racial disproportionality and gaps in culturally appropriate services for BIPOC, LGBTQ+ youth, pregnant and parenting young people, and unaccompanied minors. She recommended increased investment in prevention for youth exiting public systems of care (foster care, juvenile justice, residential behavioral health) and expanding services in rural communities, where transportation and absence of local programs were cited as major barriers.

The presentation closed with an offer to return with follow-up data: Araya said she would provide requested migration and school-enrollment data to legislators who asked about whether rural youth move to urban centers to seek services.

The committee did not take formal action during the segment; witnesses offered to follow up with staff on data and budget specifics.