Workgroups and Coalitions

Building Changes is proud to serve on the Project Education Impact (PEI) Workgroup. PEI is a statewide partnership dedicated to ensuring that students in foster care, experiencing homelessness, or in juvenile rehabilitation facilities have the same opportunities to succeed as their peers. Since 2017, PEI has brought together state agencies and community partners to identify barriers, share solutions, and advocate for change. By centering equity and collaboration, the workgroup works toward closing opportunity gaps and creating a future where every young person can learn, graduate, and thrive.

We’re proud to be a part of the Washington Coalition for Homeless Youth Advocacy (WACHYA). WACHYA is a statewide network of providers, funders, and advocates working to ensure that every young person experiencing homelessness has a safe place to stay and the support they need to thrive. With members across Washington, WACHYA brings together diverse youth-focused organizations united by a shared vision of ending youth and young adult homelessness.

Through advocacy, collaboration, and a commitment to equity, WACHYA has helped drive meaningful progress—youth homelessness in Washington has decreased by 40% since 2016, meaning 10,000 fewer young people are without a home. This success shows what’s possible, but WACHYA continues to push forward until every young person has the stability and opportunity they deserve.

National Network 4 Youth is dedicated to preventing and eradicating youth homelessness in America. We work in communities with youth who have experienced homelessness, service providers, and systems to help accelerate the community’s progress in ending homelessness and human trafficking among young people.

The National Newcomer Network aims to provide a space for people who care about newcomers to come together to push our education system to adequately support the real needs of newcomers everywhere.  Alongside our students and communities, we envision a safe and welcoming public education system where all newcomer students can succeed and thrive academically, socially, and emotionally in every classroom where they learn.

The Advocacy and Policy Cohort engages emerging community leaders and parents/guardians through a speakers series to learn about policy work, develop and understand policies through a racial equity lens, ways to effectively advocate, how to work with the media, and understand educational data. At the conclusion of the cohort, members will have a deeper connection to policy work, stronger leadership skills and a better understanding of policy issues.

FYSPRT brings together families, youth, system partners, and community members to work on improving behavioral health services and supports for children, youth, and their families. We envision a future where WA state youth, young adults, families, and community partners work together to ensure behavioral health programs and services successfully support all youth and families to thrive.