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 youth or young adults. The youth said those counts matter because they help determine state funding and that many youth are not captured by the one‑week count.

Why it matters: students and youth advocates argued that youth homelessness affects attendance, safety and achievement; the board’s administrators and trustees heard specific, youth‑led proposals for outreach and coordination.

What they are doing: the youth presenters said the task force and YAB have developed a Linktree of local resources for counseling, hygiene items and food; they reported handing out QR‑code stickers and running awareness events such as a “Glow Walk” for Youth Hope Month and a planned “Hike for Housing” to be coordinated with local partners and to offer transportation and lunch. Lili King, co‑chair of the Youth Task Force, described the Linktree as a year‑long project that has produced “a bunch of different things, on there and how you can get in contact with people to get the basic necessities that you need.”

Funding and structure: Alita (identified as the Youth Action Board coordinator) told the board that the YAB and partners were awarded funding through the federal Youth Homeless Demonstration Project. In her remarks she said the project award was “a little over $3,000,000,” and that the YAB receives “about $1.4 million annually” to distribute across projects for youth in the region. The presenters said the YAB is youth‑led, distributes funds locally, and includes members who have experienced homelessness themselves.

Partnerships and programs: presenters named the McKinney‑Vento program, local nonprofits and youth‑serving agencies (YFS and others) as regular collaborators. They described coordination with the Circle drop‑in center, partnerships to provide shoes and hygiene products, summer and school‑year programming and transportation arrangements with the Journey on Steps program.

Board response and next steps: board members praised the youth leaders’ work and urged continued coordination with district staff. Board members and staff asked for follow‑up on scheduling flexibility and the district’s capacity to support alternative education schedules for students who cannot attend traditional school hours. District staff said education and wraparound supports already occur at nonstandard hours at drop‑in centers and that the district will continue to explore supports and transportation for planned events.

Clarifying details: presenters described outreach tactics (QR stickers, Linktree), events (Glow Walk, Hike for Housing planned for mid‑August), and local collaborations. Presenters reported the approximate counts and funding amounts above; those figures were reported orally at the meeting and reflected the presenters’ statements.

Ending: Board members thanked the youth leaders for their presentations and encouraged continued collaboration among the Youth Task Force, Youth Action Board, the district and community partners.