Presentation: “A Collaborative Approach to Supporting Youth Experiencing Homelessness” - April 2025 Newsletter

At the 2025 National Afterschool Association Convention in March, Community Impact Manager Julia Wieczorek co-presented a session on collaborative approaches to support youth experiencing homelessness. Julia was joined by Clare Grace Jones, Senior Training and Technical Assistance Associate with the Collaborative for Advancing Healthy Experiences in OST (CAHE-OST) at Education Development Center (EDC) to explore the critical importance of fostering collaboration among OST sites, schools, and families. During the session, Julia highlighted the innovative collaboration with regional McKinney-Vento programs in New Jersey to connect eligible youth experiencing homelessness to local YMCA summer programming at no cost. Session attendees worked together to identify and workshop the assets, barriers, and potential risk factors impacting students experiencing homelessness in their own communities, and left with actionable strategies and resources for building and strengthening these collaborations.

Call to Action

If you know a youth experiencing housing insecurity, we invite you to explore YMCA summer camp opportunities available throughout New Jersey.

If you are a YMCA summer camp program interested in partnering with the NJ YMCA State Alliance to expand summer access for housing-insecure youth, we want to hear from you.

Please contact us at: njymca@njyalliance.org  for more information on how to get involved or access available resources.

Together, we can ensure every child has the opportunity to feel safe, supported, and connected this summer.