YSN is excited to announce the release of the Legislative Report: An assessment of needs of pregnant and parenting youth experiencing homelessness in Minnesota. 

A bit of background information: In 2024, YSN successfully advocated for state funding to support a study on the experiences of pregnant and parenting youth as they interacted with the homeless response system in Minnesota. While YSN partner agencies knew that the system was not working well for this population, we did not have data to support our assertions. The hope for this study was to provide that data which could then be used to advocate for system change. 

The Wilder Foundation was selected to carry out this research. In partnership with YSN agencies and their youth, the study was both designed and implemented with significant guidance and input from a group of youth with lived experience navigating this system. 

The final report demonstrates significant disparities and barriers for this population as they seek support to stabilize their housing and access other resources. In FY 2024, there were 1930 young families served by the homeless response system in MN (5000 individuals), but only 18 shelter beds and 143 housing units dedicated to this population. There were also notable disparities among BIPOC young families with 95% (metro) and 87% (statewide) identifying as Native American or people of color, a much higher rate than any other subpopulation of people experiencing homelessness.

The report identifies a number of key recommendations in response to the research. One recommendation is to increase the number of shelter and housing options that are dedicated to young families to ensure that this population has access to the targeted programs and resources that will best support them through their housing crisis. The report also recommends that the complex rules and requirements that often accompany programs supporting young families be addressed in order to reduce barriers and increase access to these necessary resources.

There is a lot more information, both findings and recommendations in the full report linked above. We are grateful to the legislature for funding this study, the Wilder Foundation for their amazing work in guiding and compiling this research, and to our youth participants who invested significant time and energy toward the completion of this project.

For more information about the study, see the following video clips from YSN’s recent roundtable event:
* A video of the Wilder Foundation sharing high level highlights of the report
* A youth panel discussion about their experiences accessing the homeless response system