Riverside reaches major milestone in youth homeless crisis

KCAL, KCBS, NAEE TUCKER, CALIFORNIA FAMILY LIFE CENTER, CNN

By Joy Benedict

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    RIVERSIDE, California (KCAL/KCBS) — Riverside officials announced a major milestone in their fight to end the homeless crisis, proclaiming that they have effectively reduced the number of unhoused youth to zero.

The city undertook this initiative aimed at getting every young person off the street two years ago.

“As a mother of three kids, I just felt very strongly that our youth needed our help, particularly our foster youth,” Mayor Patricia Dawson said.

Dawson said a large portion of the city’s homeless youth population stems from people aging out of the foster care system.

“They have an 80% chance of becoming homeless in their first year,” Dawson said. “Once we can get them, and get them into services, and get them housed, they do better.”

In the last two years, officials have found permanent housing for 94 young people. The city attributed its success to projects such as the new Aspire apartment building, which has 33 one-bedroom apartments. The new building offers apartments to homeless people between the ages of 18 and 24. It also has case workers and programs for tenants, ranging from cooking classes to financial literacy courses.

“It’s not a one-size-fits-all,” Housing and Human Services Director Michelle Davis said. “Everybody has different needs. When we house an individual we do an individual needs assessment.”

It’s been a lifeline to people like Naee Tucker.

“I’ve been homeless since 15,” Tucker said. “My wasn’t always peaches and cream. I didn’t have my parent. I had my dad here and there but he passed away in 2021.”

Her father’s death left the 21-year-old single mother homeless. When she couldn’t spend a night at her relatives’ homes, she would sleep on benches and in parks. However, after six years of couch surfing and housing insecurity, she and her two children finally moved into their permanent home at the Aspire complex.

“I was at a very low spot in my life where I needed so much help,” Tucker said. “They came in clutch at the right time.”

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