First Year of Building Futures
By: Courtney Morse, Marketing & Communications Manager, Center for Human Services
The Youth Navigation Center of Stanislaus County (YNC) is a beacon of hope for young adults experiencing homelessness, housing instability or crisis. Comprised of two shelters, a drop-in center and a transitional living facility – over 40 youth can be sheltered on any given night.
On October 5, 2022, the YNC celebrated one year of operation. YNC Director Emily Webster reflects, “The first year of the YNC was very exciting and a really big learning experience for us. We were able to shelter a lot of youth and move many young adults into transitional or permanent housing and provide support for youth in crisis and youth experiencing homelessness all the way from age 13 to 24.”
One of those young adults is twenty-one year old Joshua who found himself homeless in February 2021 when his family kicked him out. Joshua lived in his car for a month while working part-time and attending classes at Stanislaus State University. “Living in my car every day, I was concerned with my safety, with my well being,” Joshua said. He described the logistical issues of being homeless, from having to use the gym to shower and not being able to lay down.
“Being homeless is already hard enough, but you add trying to maintain a job on top of that, and trying to maintain school, it’s hard. You definitely have to be good at time management, you have to be responsible.”
In March 2021, he was connected with a YNC Navigator who got him into Pathways, a transitional living facility for 18-24 year olds located at the YNC. There, he had a safe place to stay while he worked with a case manager to set life goals and achieve them.
In just seven months, Joshua was ready to move out of Pathways and into Pine Meadows, a permanent housing option for young adults ages 18-24 that is part of the YNC system of care.
Like many young adults in our community, Joshua never expected to be homeless. He shared, “I learned how prevalent youth homelessness is in our county and I’m definitely glad places like this exist. Going through this whole situation has really made me appreciative of the services I was able to utilize.”
Joshua is just one of many young adults who have experienced a positive outcome from the YNC’s first year. “The biggest success has been seeing the system in action,” says Emily. “We work really hard to provide a place where young people can become stable and start working towards the goals that they have set for themselves.”
“I’m proud of the youth who walk through our doors. It’s hard to ask for help and be vulnerable; our youth do that every day.” – Emily Webster
