Youth: “Youth” are individuals aged 12 to 17-years old.
Young Adult: “Young adults” are individuals aged 18 to 24-years old
Young people who are literally homeless: Young people under age 25 who are not part of adult-headed households living on the street or other places not meant for human habitation; young people living in shelter, transitional housing or other time-limited setting.
Young people who are in unstable situations: Young people under age 25 who are not part of adult-headed households who may not be literally homeless but are in a housing situation where they are unlikely to be able to stay. This category includes but may not be limited to:
Young people who face losing their housing in the near future through eviction or being told by family or friends that they can no longer stay
Young people staying in a temporary accommodation like a hotel or motel that they can no longer pay for
Young people who are in unsafe situations: Young people under age 25 who are not part of adult-headed households who may not be literally homeless but are in a housing situation where it is not safe for them to stay. This category includes but may not be limited to:
Young people fleeing or attempting to flee their home or the place they are staying because of:
Domestic violence
Dating violence
Sexual assault
Stalking
Other dangerous or life threatening conditions related to violence that has taken place in the home or made them afraid to return to the home, including:
Trading sex for housing
Trafficking
Physical abuse
Violence or perceived threat of violence because of the young person’s sexual orientation or gender identity
Young people experiencing homelessness: Unless otherwise specified, this term refers to young people who are not part of adult-headed households who are literally homeless AND young people in unsafe or unstable situations, as noted above.
By-Name List: This is a real-time accounting of young people who are experiencing homelessness in your community. This list should be used to triage the needs of young people experiencing homelessness, match them with the appropriate interventions to permanently end their homelessness, understand needs relative to resources, and measure progress towards ending youth homelessness.
By Name List Scorecard: Helps communities take a snapshot of local progress toward a quality by-name list for all unaccompanied youth and young adults under age 25 and target areas for improvement. Communities receive a score which should help create action plans and measurement improvement toward a comprehensive by-name list.
Coordinated Entry System: This is the process your community has in place to ensure that all people experiencing homelessness can quickly connect to assistance to help resolve their homelessness and that resources are prioritized based on need and vulnerability. (For more on how HUD defines coordinated entry, see this HUD Notice CPD-17-01.) Your by-name list for youth should account for all young people presenting to your coordinated entry system with any form of homelessness.
Inpatient behavioral health: Publicly paid residential treatment programs for mental health and substance use disorders. For more information on how young people are being discharged from inpatient treatment to homelessness see AWHWA’s Dec 2018 report here.
Young people of color: Young people who identify as: Latinx (of any race), Black or African American, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, Asian, Multiracial, and American Indian or Alaskan Native.
LGBTQ+: Young people who identify on the LGBTQ+ spectrum including, but not limited to, young people who identify as: lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning.
Gender diverse: Any youth who identifies as a gender other than the sex that was assigned to them at birth.
McKinney-Vento-defined: For the purpose of the ACI, students in Grades 6-12 who are considered homeless (lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, including those unstably or unsafely housed) and unaccompanied (not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian) and are registered as an unaccompanied homeless youth under the McKinney-Vento Act.
USICH Criteria and Benchmarks: Criteria and benchmarks to help guide communities as they bring together many different programs and systems to build a coordinated community response to ending youth homelessness.