Building Changes is excited to announce transformative new strategies and partnerships to improve the well-being and long-term housing stability of families and young people. Through the Washington Youth & Families Fund (WYFF), we are awarding a total of $3.975 million to eight partners to support projects focused on meeting the unique needs of communities across the state.
New WYFF strategies in this funding round are aimed at addressing emerging and persistent gaps in our homeless response, especially for Black, Indigenous People of the Global Majority (BIPOGM) and Lesbian, Gay, Trans, Bisexual, Queer/Questioning, and Two-Spirit (LGTBQ2+) communities which are disproportionately impacted by homelessness.
These awards aren’t just limited to funding. Building Changes will provide comprehensive support to new partners during the three years of the grants—helping them build organizational capacity and advance tailored programs through technical assistance, training, and peer learning opportunities. Learning and evaluation go hand-in-hand, and we also emphasize data collection and shared learning with partners to track progress, improve programs, and inform future strategies.
Innovative Strategies to Support Families
Housing stability is more than having a roof over your head—it should include access to trauma recovery, healing services, and equitable health services. Our approach prioritizes culturally appropriate services so BIPOGM families can guide how care is given. By focusing on healing services and tailored, culturally relevant support, we can address the complex needs of families experiencing homelessness and promote long-term stability.
Building Changes’ new funding and capacity building partnerships will leverage these key strategies to improve outcomes for families experiencing homelessness:
- Focus on Healing Services: Integrating mental and behavioral health support, trauma recovery, and culturally informed interventions to support holistic well-being and long-term housing stability.
- Cultural Relevance and Equity: Prioritizing culturally appropriate services for BIPOGM communities, particularly immigrant and refugees, to address racial disparities in homeless response systems and strengthen cultural identity, mitigating historical trauma and racism.
- Flexible Funding and Support: Providing flexible funding to support the diverse and evolving needs of families, including housing assistance, healing services, and addressing health complications exacerbated by COVID-19.
Partners Serving Families
Mujeres in Action (M.i.A.) | Spokane County | Grant Amount: $549,984
Funds will support M.i.A.’s work to assist families in recovering from the experience of homelessness and embracing the goals of ending homelessness through flexible funds, housing assistance, and healing services. As an advocate for survivors of domestic violence and/or sexual assault, M.i.A. strives to helping people reach their full potential, while educating their community from a Latine perspective to end family violence.
New Americans Alliance for Policy and Research (NAAPR) | King County | Grant Amount: $549,999
Funds will support NAAPR’s Refugee and Immigrant Housing Promotion project (RIHHP) serving refugee and immigrant households with low incomes and limited or no English proficiency who are experiencing homelessness or housing instability. There are high incidences of depression, anxiety, and PTSD among adults and children from war-torn countries. Many are newly arrived families living in overcrowded situations and seeking financial assistance, while also facing discrimination and negative portrayals of their culture and identity. RIHHP will help families achieve housing stability through services that facilitate healing and address immediate needs through flexible funds.
Pamoja Place | Island County | Grant Amount: $496,065
Funds will support Pamoja Place’s Ujima Program, which aims to create a supportive and inclusive space where community members feel acknowledged and can access culturally affirming, sustainable housing and resources without having to relive their trauma. The program will address the specific needs of BIPOGM families who are increasingly facing challenges in the community, such as micro and macro aggressions, anti-blackness, racism, persecution due to identity, and inaccessibility to social services.
Triumph Teen Life Center | Skagit County | Grant Amount: $378,952
Funds will enable Triumph Teen Life Center to provide flexible financial assistance directly to families in need, sustain staff, and enhance their integrated approach to service delivery. Triumph Teen Life Center’s after-school programs focus on academics, creativity, and leadership for teens, while their resource center and food bank support families facing trauma, adversity, or housing instability, creating a holistic ecosystem that addresses the community’s diverse needs.
Innovative Strategies to Support Youth & Young Adults
New strategies for projects serving youth and young adults will center on preventing homelessness for individuals aged 16 to 21 exiting juvenile detention facilities. The approach is grounded in positive youth development principles and is designed to equip young people with the tools they need to transition back to the community, live independently, and thrive. We focus particularly on marginalized populations, including BIPOGM and LGBTQ2+ youth, who face unique barriers to stability.
Building Changes’ new funding and capacity building partnerships will leverage these key strategies to improve outcomes for youth and young adults experiencing homelessness:
- Focus on Marginalized Populations: Targeting support for BIPOGM and LGBTQ2+ youth to address the unique challenges they face in accessing stable housing and opportunities.
- Personalized Support: Emphasizing individualized coaching relationships with young people to provide tailored support during the transition process and promote stability, independence, and empowerment.
- Flexible Funding: Providing 12 months of no-barrier, flexible cash assistance to facilitate self-sufficiency and financial literacy for young people.
Partners Serving Youth & Young Adults
Second Chance Outreach/Hope for Homies | Snohomish County | Grant Award: $500,000
Funds will support youth and young adults with re-entry planning services, housing, mentoring, and wrap-around support when they are released from juvenile detention or prison. Guided by staff who have lived experience of poverty, gang influence, and incarceration, and grounded in the commitment to Hispanic/Latiné and indigenous cultural healing practices, Hope for Homies will work from a critical perspective of the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) for youth of color, particularly Hispanic, Native American, and bilingual young people.
The Silent Task Force | King County | Grant Award: $500,000
Funds will support partnering young people with peer navigators who will assist them with the transition from detention to re-entry, including providing financial assistance for immediate needs and helping them access housing, education, and workforce resources. As a by-for organization, The Silent Task Force promotes pro-Blackness to foster internal pride, heal from institutional trauma and structural racism, and build skills in conflict navigation, relationship-building, and positive self-identity.
Volunteers of America of Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho | Spokane County | Grant Award: $500,000
Funds will help expand their capacity to work with both Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families juvenile detention facilities and local juvenile justice systems through their established InReach program, with the goal of ensuring youth and young adults exiting from both of these systems do not exit to homelessness.
YMCA of Greater Seattle | King County | Grant Award: $500,000
Funds will allow the Y to grow on the success of the Housing Support for Youth in Courts (H-SYNC) program by extending supports that include housing case management, coaching services, and financial assistance for young people who are nearing their exit date from juvenile detention to ensure housing stability when they transition out of detention.
