Everyone needs a safe, stable place to call home. That’s why Greater Twin Cities United Way works with local organizations to prevent homelessness and help people stay housed.
The transition out of foster care, incarceration or both should include a clear path to safe, stable housing. But too often, gaps in our housing system leave young people without the support they need at these critical transition points, resulting in temporary or prolonged homelessness.
This is a preventable outcome, which is why United Way partners with local nonprofits, policymakers and others through Pathways Home. Since launching in 2023, United Way has invested $1.1 million through Pathways Home across 10 local housing nonprofits working to keep young people stably housed.
Earlier this year, we concluded the first phase of Pathways Home – and the investments are already showing us what’s possible.
As we begin selecting partners for Phase 2, our team is looking back at the lessons we’ve learned so far – reflecting on what’s already working to help young people stay housed, what challenges we’ve seen and where we see opportunities to pivot for even greater impact.
Our nonprofit partners consistently tell us that United Way’s flexible approach makes a difference.
In a space where many funders limit their grants to specific programs and expenses, United Way trusts our partners to use dollars where they believe they can make the greatest impact.
Through Pathways Home funding, our partners covered critical expenses for the young people they serve, including:
Flexible funding from United Way was even more valuable considering ongoing disruptions in federal grants, which have hit our community’s housing nonprofits hard. United Way’s consistent support allowed organizations to continue investing in programs and advancing their missions despite reduced or delayed federal grant payments.
Read more about our approach to trust and accountability in our nonprofit partnerships.
Our Phase 1 partners supported over 800 young people transitioning from foster care and/or incarceration to stable housing.
Yet our team was also gratified by the extent to which our partners were able to invest in systems and processes that grew their overall capabilities.
Pathways Home funding allowed organizations to hire or retain case managers, improve data and evaluation systems, train staff in trauma-informed care, invest in technology and expand programs geographically.
Some partners also used Pathways Home funds to satisfy matching requirements or unlock additional public resources. One partner used flexible funds as a match to help secure nearly $30,000 in direct cash assistance for young people.
Like all of United Way’s work, Pathways Home is rooted in the belief that organizations are stronger when they are in collaboration with their colleagues.
Through formal engagements like our Communities of Practice, as well as informal, ongoing communication within our cohort, Pathways Home helped partners improve referral pathways; reduce duplicated work; and establish stronger connections with counties, public housing agencies, mental health providers and other service systems.
One partner reported that collaboration and advocacy helped reduce their organization’s wait for a housing voucher from nearly nine months to one month. In many cases, this alone can be enough to prevent a young person from entering homelessness.
Young people are experts in their own lives. Some of our partners used Phase 1 funding to compensate young people for contributing their knowledge through advisory councils, board positions, outreach roles, program design and advocacy.
One partner’s youth-developed pilot focused on practical skills such as managing bills, building credit, addressing landlord or neighbor conflict, navigating employment challenges and setting boundaries that protect housing stability.
When young people can influence how services and systems are designed, those services become more responsive to their day-to-day needs.
We have consistently heard from our partners that helping young people find and maintain stable housing is really about helping young people navigate life. Our philanthropic sector can do more to make this possible.
Through investments in life skills and independent-living models, we can help prepare young people for the day-to-day challenges of living on their own. These models can address financial planning, employment, education, health care and other practical skills to help young people reach stability and pursue their goals.
This is why I’m excited that Phase 2 of Pathways Home will focus our investments and partnerships around these important – and underfunded – areas of service. Working with our next cohort of housing nonprofits, we will build a system that ensures Minnesota’s young people enter adulthood with the skills and resources to thrive.
I look forward to sharing more about the next phase of Pathways Home, including our selection of funded partners, later this fall. Together, we can help more young people build a stable future.
