The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is accepting applications for its Youth Homelessness Grant.
Donor Name: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: (mm/dd/yyyy) 08/10/2026
Size of the Grant: More than $1 million
Grant Duration: 2 Years
Details:
The Youth Homelessness NOFO provides competitive awards to eligible applicants under two different programs-
- Youth Homelessness System Improvement (YHSI) grants
- Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program
Congress appropriated funds for YHSI and YHDP “to demonstrate how a comprehensive approach to serving homeless youth, age 24 and under can dramatically reduce youth homelessness.” This includes a variety of approaches, eligible activities, and projects that address not only housing needs, but also needs for services related to chronic physical health or mental health conditions, substance use disorders, domestic violence or childhood abuse and barriers to employment.
Goals and Objectives
The goal of YHSI is to support communities in establishing and implementing a response system for youth homelessness, or for improving their existing system. The goal of YHDP is to implement projects to demonstrate how a comprehensive approach to serving homeless youth can dramatically reduce youth homelessness. A “Housing First” approach to homelessness has failed to deliver on its promise to end homelessness. Homelessness in America reached a record high in 2024, and the number of unaccompanied homeless youth has increased steadily since 2020 (AHAR 2024). To promote the purposes of YHSI and YHDP, the goals and objectives specific to this NOFO include:
- Prevent and End Youth Homelessness. YHSI and YHDP provide funding, regulatory flexibility, and technical assistance to help communities develop effective youth homeless response systems and make youth homelessness rare and, if it occurs, brief and non-recurring.
- Facilitate self-sufficiency. YHSI and YHDP emphasize the importance of creating interventions that help youth establish independent, sustainable lives for themselves and, if applicable, their children. According to a 2025 report from the National Runaway Safeline, homeless youth were more likely to be facing economic challenges, substance use, and human trafficking than those at imminent risk of
homelessness HUD expects communities funded under this NOFO to design systems or create projects that prioritize youth self-sufficiency through education, employment, and behavioral health supports. - Innovate and Expand capacity. YHSI and YHDP funds along with technical assistance will expand community capacity to serve homeless youth, pilot new models of assistance, and determine effective interventions.
- Reduce trauma and provide safety. According to the report from the National Runaway Safeline, youth experiencing or at-risk of homelessness face high rates of human trafficking, and report crisis intervention needs related to emotional abuse, physical abuse, substance use, juvenile crime, and sexual abuse. It is critical that community efforts to reduce youth homelessness are equipped to address these needs through partnerships with domestic violence and trafficking agencies, local law enforcement, and substance abuse treatment organizations; coordinating or creating safe housing and service environments; and reducing unsafe public camping and drug use conditions.
Funding Information
- Funding of approximately $193,000,000 is available through this NOFO.
- The minimum YHDP award for a YHDP Community Recipient is $500,000 and the maximum YHDP award for a YHDP Community Recipients is $15,000,000.
Grant Period
24-months
Eligibility Criteria
Eligible Entity Types:
- State governments
- County governments
- City or township governments
- Special district governments
- Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
- Native American tribal governments Federally recognized
- Native American tribal organizations other than Federally recognized tribal governments
- 12 Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education)
- Others
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
