The youth homelessness demonstration program (YHDP) aims to support selected communities in developing and implementing a coordinated community approach to preventing and ending youth homelessness

The Department of Housing and Urban Development's Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development awarded $200,145 to Bakersfield-Kern Regional Home on June 1, 2026, under the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (CFDA 14.276).

The award funds rental assistance, supportive services, operating costs for supportive housing, and program administrative costs serving youth experiencing homelessness, including unaccompanied and pregnant or parenting youth, in Bakersfield, California. The period of performance runs through May 31, 2027. Bakersfield-Kern Regional Home, operating as the Bakersfield Kern Regional Homeless Collaborative Division, is a tax-exempt nonprofit based in Bakersfield that serves homeless individuals and families across Kern County through permanent supportive housing, rapid rehousing, transitional housing, rental assistance, case management, and homeless management information systems operations.

The YHDP supports selected communities in developing and implementing coordinated community approaches to preventing and ending youth homelessness through Housing First strategies, with seven primary objectives including building national momentum, promoting equity in homeless assistance delivery, highlighting youth leadership, evaluating coordinated community approaches, expanding capacity, evaluating performance measures, and establishing frameworks for federal program and technical assistance collaboration.

Activities

Eleven types of assistance may be provided through the yhdp: 1. Acquisition of real property (including structures) for use in the provision of housing or supportive services; 2. Rehabilitation of structures to provide housing or supportive services; 3. New construction, including the building of a new structure or building an addition to an existing structure for use as supportive housing; 4. Leasing of a new structure or structures, or portions thereof, to provide housing or supportive services; 5. Rental assistance, which may be short-term, medium-term, or long-term, as well as tenant-based, project-based, or sponsor-based, for transitional or permanent housing; 6. Supportive services to assist program participants obtain and maintain housing; 7. Operating costs of supportive housing; 8. Costs of implementing and operating homeless management information system (HMIS); 9. Program administrative costs; 10. Relocation costs; and 11. Indirect costs in accordance with 2 CFR part 200, as applicable. No assistance provided under this program (or any state or local government funds used to supplement this assistance) may be used to replace state or local funds previously used, or designated for use, to assist homeless persons or persons at-risk of homelessness.

Expected outcomes

As a result of developing and implementing a coordinated community approach to preventing and ending youth homelessness, there will be: • significant decrease in the number of youth experiencing homelessness. • increased income, education, health, and social/emotional well-being of participants. • community-level understanding of the number and needs of youth at-risk of and experiencing homelessness. • new or improved partnerships between youth-serving organizations in the community.

Intended beneficiaries

Homeless unaccompanied youth (age 24 and younger) and homeless youth (age 24 and younger) with children.

Subrecipient activities

The subrecipient activities are unknown at the time of award.