National Homeless Youth Awareness Month (NHYAM) Toolkit

About National Homeless Youth Awareness Month (NHYAM)

In 2007, Congress passed its first resolution (see original House resolution | see original Senate resolution) recognizing November as National Homeless Youth Awareness Month (NHYAM) to build awareness of the issue of youth homelessness, including its causes and potential solutions, and highlight the need to work to prevent homelessness among children and teens. Since then, November has been a time to elevate the issue of youth homelessness; applaud the efforts of businesses, organizations, and volunteers dedicated to meeting the needs of children and youth experiencing homelessness; and grow the commitment to intensify efforts to prevent and end homelessness among young people in the United States.

In support of the federal resolution recognizing November as NHYAM, many states, including California, have passed state resolutions recognizing the same. See the 2024 California state resolution recognizing November as California Runaway and Homeless Youth Prevention Month.

The California Homeless Education Technical Assistance Center (HETAC) and the California Department of Education (CDE) join with others in recognizing November 2023 as NHYAM. The HETAC and CDE, in particular, wish to acknowledge the important role education can play in preventing and ending homelessness among young people, and provide the resources below to help you be part of bringing attention to this important issue.

HETAC NHYAM Resources

• HETAC Sample National Homeless Youth Awareness Month Board Resolution
  This HETAC resource provides a sample board resolution policy that can be used as a starting place for school boards or other organizations to develop their own board policy in recognition of November as NHYAM.
  Note: The sample board resolution will download as a Word document to your Downloads folder for easy editing
   
• HETAC Sample National Homeless Youth Awareness Month Press Release
  This HETAC resource provides a sample press release that can be used as a starting place for school boards or other organizations to attract media attention, raise awareness, and generate publicity in recognition of November as NHYAM.
  Note: The sample press release will download as a Word document to your Downloads folder for easy editing
   
• HETAC National Homeless Youth Awareness Month Sample Calendar of Activities
  This HETAC provides a sample calendar of daily activities that can be completed by individuals, in groups, as a school leadership body or classroom, or as an organization. The activities focus on increasing awareness of the issue of child, youth, and family homelessness, and suggest practical ways to engage with the issue in a positive and helpful way.
   
• HETAC National Homeless Youth Awareness Month Activities for Schools
  This HETAC resource provides suggested activities your school community or organization can participate in as part of NHYAM. Suggested activities include passing a board resolution recognizing NHYAM, spreading awareness of NHYAM via social media, wearing green on November 10 (#WearGreenDay), organizing a supplies drive, incorporating classroom assignments, and more.
   
• HETAC National Homeless Youth Awareness Month Book and Movie List
  This HETAC resource suggests books and movies to help increase awareness of youth and family homelessness as part of NHYAM. The books may be read by individuals or as part of a book club, while the movies may be viewed alone or as part of a group screening and discussion.
   
• HETAC Awareness Videos webpage
  Visit the HETAC Awareness Videos webpage to access videos intended to help build awareness about the dynamics and challenges of youth and family homelessness and how schools and communities can respond. Videos of various lengths and focal topics are included and ready for use in trainings and other homeless education work.
   
• HETAC Recorded Webinar: National Homeless Youth Awareness Month Resources and Best Practices to Increase Awareness and Engagement (Recorded October 12, 2023)
  View the webinar recording
  Download the webinar slide deck

HETAC NHYAM Social Media and Zoom Resources

Social media graphics

Portrait (branded)	Portrait (blank, for use with "did you know?" messages)	Square (branded)	Square (blank, for use with "did you know?" messages)	Landscape (branded)

Download options:
Individual: Right-click the desired social media graphic click "Save link as...", and save the file to your computer in the desired location.
All: Download all social media graphics as a .zip file

Social Media Messages

• HETAC National Homeless Youth Awareness Month Social Media Messages
  This HETAC resource provides sample messages that can be used to share about National Homeless Youth Awareness Month via social media. Use the provided “Did you know…?” statements or write your own awareness message paired with the HETAC's blank social media graphics to share about National Homeless Youth Awareness Month (#NHYAM) and Youth HOPE Month with your social media network.

Zoom backgrounds

Light Background 1	Light Background 2	Dark Background 1	Dark Background 2

Download options:
Individual: Right-click the desired Zoom background, click "Save link as...", and save the file to your computer in the desired location.
All: Download all Zoom backgrounds as a .zip file

About Youth HOPE Month

November has been recognized as National Runaway Prevention Month (NRPM) since 2001, following the landmark White House Conference on Exploited and Runaway Children. For more than two decades, the National Runaway Safeline (NRS), with support from the Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB), has partnered with national, state, and local organizations, Youth Ambassadors, companies, and individuals to shine a light on experiences of youth who have run away or experienced homelessness. As the landscape surrounding youth homelessness has evolved since NRPM’s inception, NRS recognized the need for a rebrand to more accurately reflect the broader issues impacting youth today.

Beginning in 2024, NRS is now recognizing Youth Homelessness, Outreach, Prevention, Education Month, or Youth HOPE Month. NRS provides a variety of helpful resources for Youth HOPE Month, including sample proclamations, outreach materials, and social media graphics and messages. Visit the NRS Youth HOPE Month webpage to learn more

Other National Homeless Youth Awareness Month Resources

Learn more about child, youth, and family homelessness and related helpful resources at the links below.

• California Youth Crisis Line (California Coalition for Youth)
• Early Childhood Homelessness webpage (SchoolHouse Connection)
• Higher Education Homelessness webpage (SchoolHouse Connection)
• Preventing and Ending Youth Homelessness in America (Annie E. Casey Foundation)
• The HOPE Center for Student Basic Needs website (The HOPE Center; focus: higher education basic needs insecurity)
• Voices of Youth Count website (Chapin Hall)
• Student Homelessness: Lessons from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) webpage (SchoolHouse Connection)