Natalie, an 18-year-old living in Washington, D.C., had a lot to juggle: She was working two low-wage jobs, attending college part time and living with a roommate in her first apartment. Her aspirations outpaced her circumstances, and after losing one of her jobs, Natalie became homeless at 19. Behind on her bills and unable to find a better-paying job despite relentless searching, Natalie was exhausted and depressed.

To achieve stable housing and economic security, young people like Natalie need comprehensive, career-building support, not just a minimum wage job.

While every young person’s story is unique, when they enter the youth homelessness system they need financial stability the most. Under the best of circumstances, it can be hard to find a job with growth potential and benefits and an affordable place to live. In D.C., rent has increased dramatically, along with inflation, while wages have not nearly kept up.

More than 4,000 students in Boston Public Schools were homeless as of 2021, a number the district considers “crisis level.” In the Bay Area, about 20% of the 15,000 youth who are homeless are living on their own, without support from family. College students in California are struggling to find stable housing so they can focus on earning their degrees.

Teens and young adults experiencing homelessness typically face additional challenges, like being pregnant or parenting, having been kicked out of their homes for being LGBTQ+ or having fled the foster care system. They often need counseling, mentorship and other resources.

In Los Angeles, many young people who are homeless have had involvement in the criminal justice system, the foster care system or other government interventions. Despite numerous connections with individuals appointed to help them, few wraparound services are provided. In 2018, Los Angeles launched pilot programs to offer these young people more support in finding and remaining in stable housing, but not necessarily any tailored workforce development.

Unfortunately, homelessness is not necessarily a short-term problem. For every day a young person waits for housing, they are 2% more likely to re-experience homelessness later in life. We must provide young people with the support they need to change this trajectory, by creating workforce development programs tailored to their needs.

We can — and some organizations have — create workforce development opportunities that meet these needs and enable young people to achieve the lives they want. But we need cooperation, coordination and compensation from the agencies with the power to make this happen. For example, in the District of Columbia, one city agency has the knowledge and willingness to provide the necessary wraparound services, but not the funding. Another agency said it already operates workforce development programs (which don’t meet the needs of youth who are homeless) and would have to pull money from existing programs to finance a new one.

It shouldn’t be this complicated to get everyone — agency leaders, local legislators, service providers and the young people whose lived experience makes them the experts here — to sit down together to create, fund and sustain a tailored supportive workforce development program. Our coalition is ready and willing to support this effort, but we need local government leadership to make it happen.

Natalie found Sasha Bruce Youthwork, an organization that provided not only safety and shelter, but also the range of resources she needed: meals, toiletries, assistance re-enrolling in school, life skills classes such as nutrition and coping skills, job training and a support system she could count on. Now she has a full-time job earning a living wage and receiving health benefits for the first time in her life. As a result, she has been able to pay off debt, rebuild her credit and find a place to live where she can afford to stay.

When we know what’s needed to provide life-changing opportunities to young people facing serious challenges, we can’t afford not to make it happen.

Kimberly Perry is the executive director of DC Action. Rachel White is a senior youth policy analyst for DC Action. This column was produced by Progressive Perspectives.