The Homeless Youth Initiative - a committee of the Greater Grand Traverse Continuum of Care - has received a $1.3 million grant to develop programs addressing youth homelessness.

The Homeless Youth Initiative was selected by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to participate in the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program. Over 130 communities applied for the program, with only ten selected, including four rural districts and six urban districts. 

"As a national demonstration site, the work in the Grand Traverse area, (including Benzie, Leelanau, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska and Antrim counties) will help inform future national policy aimed at ending youth homelessness," the Homeless Youth Initiative said in a statement. "According to the most recent statistics, in 2016 there were over 200 youth between the ages of 11 and 24 in the five-county region that were homeless and living without their families."

According to Marjie Rick, coordinator of the HUD grant application, "this amazing opportunity will allow us to better understand the root causes of homelessness, effect national policy addressing youth homelessness, and develop appropriate local responses and programs to meet the needs of our vulnerable youth."