Transitional Living Program in South Lake Tahoe housing youth 16-22

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - After Tahoe Youth and Family Services (TYFS) received special federal funding in October 2021, Cheyenne Lane hit the ground running to provide much-needed housing and services to unaccompanied minors and homeless young adults ages 16-21.

Cheyanne, who is the agency's Supportive Services Manager, knew the need was great in South Lake Tahoe and had been trying to get the funding so the young people could get what they needed by receiving housing, "adulting" skills, and counseling. TYFS is the only provider of services to runaway and homeless youth in South Lake Tahoe so getting the Transitional Living Program funding fits their goal of assisting youth in achieving safe, stable living arrangements.

There are currently three apartments and one host home in place for the program in South Lake Tahoe There are seven youth/young adults and one dependent housed through the new program.

Cheyanne said she could easily fill another three 2-bedroom apartments with six residents in the 16-21 age range (people are qualified through their 21st year).

To qualify, the 16-21-year-old must be at risk of becoming homeless, are camping, living in a car or garage, or already are, or living in an unhealthy home environment, and need help to become self-sufficient.

Housing is one part of the program, and TYFS provides multiple services aimed at improving the self-sufficiency of youth by providing a robust Supportive Services Program to fill the gap in services for the most vulnerable youth and young adults in the community. This assistance in building resiliency and protective factors for a healthy transition to adulthood by providing them with a variety of resources each suited for their different level of need, to help move them from homelessness and into stable housing.

Each person living in the program's housing must have weekly counseling and case management sessions where TYFS staff works with them not only on adulting skills and their social and emotional well-being, but also on their managing money, getting checking accounts, saving money, and obtaining credit. The wrap-around service helps fill in the blanks the youth had growing up.

Each resident can reside in the program's housing for 18 months, so the skills they learn will help as they move into a more normal housing situation with first and last month's rent, and good credit scores. They each fill out a contract when they move in and start the program. Rent is not charged, but each resident must have a job (many have more than one) and save 30 percent of what they earn. Cheyanne and her team will take their group members to the grocery store, teach them about budgeting, and how a filet mignon doesn't fit financially when hamburger is more within their means.

"There is a need, and I see it blossoming," said Cheyanne of the Transitional Living Program. She said this first-time funding for South Lake Tahoe and she is seeing early successes as the participants learn how to prevent long-term dependency on social services.

Taking care of basic needs helps youth achieve their goals and become successful adults.

Cheyanne knows what the youth are facing. She grew up on the streets in Burlington, Vermont and became self-sufficient herself through a program like the one she heads in South Lake Tahoe. She is paying it forward through her support and advocacy of the TYFS transitional youth-aged resident. She hopes to bring back their drop-in center if funding becomes available, a program that helped her get off the streets.

"The kids deserve it in our community," said Cheyanne. "We're here to guide these people into adulthood."

Other supportive services provided by TYFS to help curtail youth from experiencing homelessness include its Rapid Rehousing Program and Drop-In Center services. The Rapid Rehousing Program is for young adults ages 18-24 and is designed to help them move from homelessness to being supported in their housing by retaining and maintaining their own housing. The Rapid Rehousing Program model utilizes the core components for successful housing placement: housing identification, assistance with move-in costs, rental assistance, and case management with the intent to help young people find and establish stability, improve their overall wellness, and better their quality of life. Due to the high cost of living in South Lake Tahoe, TYFS adopts creative strategies, such as renting rooms, co-tenancy, or shared housing, to increase the likelihood of self-sufficiency and sustainable living. TYFS' Drop-In Center services are for any youth ages 16-24 that are in need of access to basic necessities such as food, clothing, hygiene supplies, mail, computer and internet access, phones, laundry, shower facilities, receive case management, crisis counseling, information and service referrals, and to help with obtaining needed documents for employment.

In order to assist youth in achieving safe, stable living arrangements, TYFS provides multiple services aimed at improving the self-sufficiency of youth by providing a robust Supportive Services Program to fill the gap in services for the most vulnerable youth and young adults in our community, and to give assistance in building resiliency and protective factors for a healthy transition to adulthood by providing them with a variety of resources each suited for their different level of need, to help move them from homelessness and into stable housing.

For more information regarding our programs, contact Cheyanne Lane, Supportive Services Manager, at cheyanne@tahoeyouth.org or 530-541-2445.