The state's homeless consortium will receive nearly $3 million to help end youth homelessness.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded the $2.8 million to the South Dakota Housing For The Homeless Consortium, a group that brings together nonprofit, faith, tribal, and government agencies that work on homelessness.
The consortium is one of 33 agencies to receive the HUD funding after nearly 100 applied, according to administrator Davis Schofield.
He said the consortium will create a team that will spend the next six months planning how to spend the money. Youth and adults who've experienced youth homelessness are part of the team, and they will receive a stipend for their work.
The consortium will use some of the funding to administer the program, analyze data and learn about best practices when it comes to homeless youth, which is defined as people 24 and under.
"We'll also look to what our youth can help us to create that would be outside of the box," Schofield said. "What from their experience, what can (they) teach us? Like, 'this is an experience that I had. If this particular help would have been in place could this have prevented my experience with homelessness?'"
The rest of the funding will be divided into grants that agencies can apply for.
Poverty is the main driver of youth homelessness, Schofield said. Other risk factors include being in the foster care system, having parents who've experienced homelessness, struggling with mental health and drug addiction, being a survivor of domestic abuse, and being LGBTQ.
