H.Y.P.E.

Homeless Youth Peer Education Program

 Our Drop-in services are available to homeless and at-risk youth ages 12-25 on

                                    Tuesdays:      5:45pm-10pm

                                    Fridays:          5:45-8:30pm

                                    Saturday:        11:45-5:00pm

 What We Do:

·         Basic Resources:  During every Drop-In shift, HYPE participants receive a hot meal, snacks and beverages.  Donated clothing and hygiene products are made available as our supply allows.  Participants are able to designate Common Ground as their primary address to receive mail and establish county residency leading to eligibility for other services.  Participants have access to a computer workstation with an Internet connection. 

·         Medical services: The UCLA Mobile Medical team provides primary care the first, third and fifth Tuesdays of every month on a walk in basis.  Hepatitis A/B vaccines are also available.

·         Dental Services: The UCLA Dental team provides dental care on the second and fourth Tuesdays on a walk-in basis.

·         HIV Prevention: On-site confidential HIV testing, referrals to needle exchange sites, access to condoms, street outreach and distribution of harm reduction educational materials are available during all Drop-in hours.

·         Legal Advocacy:  Youth can sign up to see the lawyer every Tuesday evening.  Services included referrals to the Homeless Court, clearing warrants for participants for quality of life infractions such as drinking in public and assistance with issues such as drug possession, child custody and assault.

·         Mental Health Services: Mental health professionals are available during every shift to provide harm reduction based crisis intervention, suicide screening, ongoing individual therapy, couples intervention, and group work.   In addition to counseling, we provide referrals emergency and non-urgent psychiatric assessment, detox/drug rehabilitation, and legal counseling.  We also offer individual mental health sessions to clients outside of drop-in hours. This service evolved from clients reporting a need for “non-judgmental ”and “easy” out-patient therapy services.

·         Job/Educational Support Services: We provide on-going assistance with job searching and job prep including resume assistance, mock interviews, internet access for job searching, and references as needed.

·         Youth Development/Peer Education Training: Peer Education training occurs Wednesday evenings from 5-6:30 in the form of an ongoing Youth Council. The group focuses on the emerging needs of the clients and includes skills trainings, rap sessions, and leadership development. Four to eight clients attend weekly.

·         WHYP: At the community level, the HYPE program is a member of the Westside Homeless Youth Partnership (WHYP), a local coalition of youth serving agencies. Founded by Common Ground prior to the inception of the HYPE Program, the mission of the Westside Homeless Youth Partnership (WHYP) is to ensure that homeless youth or youth at-risk for homelessness on LA’s Westside receive comprehensive and seamless services in the form of harm-reduction programming, advocacy, community activism, and public education. WHYP currently has nine members and meets every other month.

Why We Do It:

Homelessness impacts physical, emotional and mental wellbeing.  Research shows that mental health problems are as much as eleven times higher for homeless youth than for the general population.  To compound this problem, homeless youth encounter health problems more often and more acutely as a result of restricted access to basic supports, including clean needles for drug injecting youth.  Recent research conducted by the CDC indicates that young people living on the street and youth who are exploring same-sex relationships are two of the groups with the highest HIV prevalence. Suicide is the leading cause of death among street youth and self-harming behaviors (cutting, burning, self-tattooing, etc.) are quite common.  While homeless youth often engage in criminal activity, research shows they are more likely to be the victims of crime rather than the perpetrators.

            Our commitment to harm reduction makes Common Ground the ideal organization to provide mental health services to hard-to-reach homeless youth who are often restricted from or unwilling to utilize mainstream mental health and social services because of barriers including requirement of abstinence from substances, strict and time-sensitive enrollment procedures, wait lists, appointments, and stigmatization of mental health problems.

How You Can Help:

            If you are concerned about the wellbeing of youth living on the streets there are a number of ways you can help out:

·        Donate clothes including sweatshirts, socks, jeans, and shoes. Please make sure the clothes you donate are clean and in decent condition

·        Donate hygiene supplies.  If you travel for work, collect the travel shampoo, conditioners, soaps, and lotions.  We also need travel side deodorant, razors and feminine hygiene products.

·        Donate food or gift certificates for food.  We serve microwavable meals, fresh fruits and vegetables, and juice boxes.

·        Volunteer!  There are a number of opportunities to donate your time – even just 2 hours a week.  Please be willing to make a 6-month commitment to the HYPE program.

For more information about the HYPE program or to get involved, please contact the
agency @ 310-314-5480 ext. 122