05/17/2011

The leaders at Iowa Homeless Youth Centers, a division of Iowa Youth and Shelter Services, are big believers in numbers (which they call Milestones) as a way to monitor progress in their efforts to assist homeless youth in making successful transitions to adulthood. But IHYC also puts a face on its efforts – using inspiring anecdotes about its successes – and an annual "sleepout"-- to tell its story. The agency’s monthly reports are unusually detailed; here’s a typical report from August 2010:

• Aftercare:
  • Worked with 55 Aftercare (aged out of foster care) youth
  • 5 youth found employment


• Buchanan (an IHYC shelter):
  • Housed 8 participants at the Buchanan Transitional Living Center
  • 2 youth enrolled into a GED or High School Program
  • 1 youth enrolled into a Post- High School Program
  • 1 youth gained employment


• Lighthouse (another shelter):
  • Housed 7 women and 7 children at the Lighthouse Host Home
  • 1 youth was enrolled into a GED or High School Program
  • 1 youth entered a Post- High School Program/ Training
  • 3 women found employment


• Outreach:
  • Had 648 contacts at the Street Outreach Program
  • Gave youth 292 rides in the Street Outreach Vans
  • 2 youth found employment

"We try to monitor outcomes really closely," says Brad Whipple, director of IHYC, who adds, "It’s helpful in program development to take our monthly reports, review the numbers and see where we are. If we had a goal of serving 75% of kids and were at 65%, we ask ourselves what we need to do. If you wait too long to check the numbers, it might be too late."

Says Whipple, "Each program coordinator has to do a monthly report on the number of participants served."

IHYC works with young people 16 to 21 – up to 25 if they are parenting or pregnant; their clients are "non-system involved," and don’t come to the agency through government agencies. According to Whipple. "We are a safety net of the big tent," says Whipple; "we focus on five things: education, employment, life skills, positive community engagement and safe housing."

IHYC clients arrive, says Whipple, via community referral and community outreach. Says Whipple, "Youth are very creative. They can stay out of the mainstream system by staying with friends, relatives, neighbors. We also have two vans that go out on the street seven days a week trying to build relationships with young people. They can get a meal, shower, do laundry and get mail at our outreach center; we also have educational and employment counseling at the centers."

Through all those efforts, say Whipple, "Our overall number of clients serviced annually is 650 to 700, with 350 to 400 coming in through street outreach."