Students, nonprofits and agencies push youth homelessness outreach and awareness in Rapid City

Students and youth-led volunteers told the Rapid City Board of Education that housing insecurity among school-age children is an ongoing local problem and described a set of outreach and support activities intended to reduce that burden.

The Youth Task Force and the Youth Action Board (YAB) presented their work at the board meeting, listing a district resource Linktree, community events and school partnerships intended to help students who are “housing insecure” — a term students used to describe youth who are couch‑surfing, lacking a permanent home or missing basic supplies. Cannon Booth, chair of the Youth Task Force, said the group is trying to change the public’s picture of homelessness to include students and families who lack steady housing.

The students say the need is measurable: one presenter said “approximately 560 RCAS kids, ranging K through 12, have been deemed housing and secured” and that the annual point-in-time youth count listed 38 unaccompanied…