Youth Emergency Assistance Hostel Berkeley, California

is a program, professionally-directed and volunteer-powered, that provides seasonal shelter for homeless youth in Berkeley. In the twenty weeks of the last winter season we provided 3,700 bed-nights to 174 different youth between the ages of 18 and 25. We also served 10,000 meals and provided 1,500 showers.

The program assists homeless young people in these ways:

• Provides relief from the stress of living on the street
• Creates a community of friendship and mutual support
• Encourages the youth to identify personal goals and to explore alternatives to street life

Berkeley's homeless population is estimated to be 1,200, about 225 of whom are youth aged 18 to 25. Three quarters are male and 54% Caucasion. In interviews 85% said they are local, 73% self-reported active drug or alcohol use, 36% indicated they have mental health problems, half have not graduated from high school, and 79% have no source of income. Thirty-seven percent have lived in foster care, fifteen and a half is the average age at which they became homeless, and the average length of time they've been homeless is 2.5 years. Since homeless youth often keep pets for companionship, we make efforts to accommodate them.

The hostel is open for 20 weeks, seven nights a week during the winter season. It is staffed each night by a trained supervisor and a team of volunteers. The youth are served a hot dinner and in the morning receive breakfast and a bag lunch. They sleep on mats with fresh sheets (laundered by the Berkeley-Albany YMCA). Clean socks and underwear are provided when available. They have access to a shower nightly. With our help, some of the youth have been reunited with family, or moved into permanent housing. In addition, we provide medical referrals and on-site therapy. Berkeley Mental Health, Lifelong Medical Clinic, the Homeless Action Center and Options Recovery Services are among the many agencies that make visits to the hostel.

Brief History

In the fall of 2002, four Berkeley women came together with a common concern: the growing number of young men and women living on our sidewalks and sleeping in our alleys, doorways and parks. While some daytime services were being provided in the form of drop-in centers, at night, a youth without housing had no legal place to sleep. The youth avoid adult shelters because they don't allow their pets entry and because youth often feel unsafe among adult homeless. The young people were piling up citations for vagrancy just for trying to find a place to get out of the rain and wind and cold at night. is the only organization in Berkeley specifically providing services to homeless youth.

Funding

It costs $5,000 a week to open our doors. Our operating budget in 2006-7 was $230,000, 89 percent of which was spent on programs. About a third of our funds come from the City of Berkeley. The rest comes from individuals and small grants from local foundations, churches, schools and businesses. Over fifty organizations supported us in 2006-7.