(The Center Square) – Pierce County is receiving $3.5 million in federal funding dedicated to help reduce the number of homeless youth in the region.
U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., announced $3.5 million for Pierce County through the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program that she helped establish in 2016. The county is one of 14 communities across the country to receive funding through this program.
Pierce County will use the funding to support homeless youth through rental assistance and wrap-around services to help support stable housing.
“We need to keep working to end homelessness in every way we can, especially among our kids, and the funding from this critical federal program will help young people in Pierce County find a safe place to call home,” Murray said in a statement.
Pierce County’s 2023 homeless Point-in-Time Count round that roughly 500 youth under 18 years old were experiencing homelessness in the region. Almost 300 were under the age of 18.
Pierce County Human Services and the county’s Youth Action Board will now work to develop a plan to determine what services the $3.5 million will go towards.
With the newly announced $3.5 million, Murray has successfully secured $107 million for Department of Housing and Urban Development programs that specifically aim to reduce youth homelessness in 2024.
This included $3 million for a new youth homeless prevention demonstration program based on a bill Murray sponsored to provide grants to state, local, tribal governments, and non-profit organizations that provide prevention services for youth at risk of homelessness.
Murray has also put forward several bills in recent years to support youth experiencing homelessness and to prevent them from experiencing it in the first place.
