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Riverside leaders said they have effectively ended young homelessness thanks to the city’s new measures.
The bold declaration came on Wednesday when city officials shared how they reached the milestone, sharing that the effort focused on strategies that involve three steps.
“Here in Riverside, we have effectively ended young homelessness,” Mayor Patricia Rock Dawson said at a press conference.
The city still has a little blue-technically young people, but the city said it has reached a “functional zero” population. This means that the city has the resources and services to accommodate people ages 18 to 24 who are experiencing homelessness.
According to the city, there are three parts of that important strategy.
Create weekly calls with youth service providers to create a list of unresolved youths and ensure that unsheld youth are connected to appropriate resources that increase shelter availability.
Michelle Davis, director of Housing and Human Services in Riverside, said the first step was a monumental key to reaching this milestone.
“The tool helped us track homeless youth and ensure they were linked to shelters soon,” she said.
According to the 2023 Homeless Count, the city has over 600 people living on the streets. However, state funding has allowed Riverside to increase shelter beds in transition and provide $600 incentives to landlords who willingly house vulnerable youths.
At a press conference, he shared his own story of a young man experiencing homelessness, saying that help in the city is a lifeline.
“It was difficult to break up my family and I lost my job, so I became homeless living in a parked car,” Gabriel Castillo shared. “I was officially housed in the unit on January 24th, 2025, and finally I have the space to call it my own.”
Castillo said he found evacuation at an urban-run youth centre that helped him lead to the resources he helped him get back on his feet.
Those who have once experienced homelessness like Castillo can get more information on resources and support here on Riverside.
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