Track A: Resource Hub Design Challenge

How might we design a digital resource hub that can be used to support the New Avenues for Youth ILP mentor program?

The goal of this track is to design a workable prototype of a Resource Hub that could support New Avenues for Youth’s ILP program.

The lab process will be used to research, define, and design a prototype that can be beta-tested by youth immediately following the lab.

Track B: Education & Learning Design Challenge

How might we rapidly build internal or external capacity for the increase in shifts in informal and formal learning to meet the needs of transitional foster youth during the COVID-19 outbreak?

The goal of this track is to design a creative and sustainable solution that will provide increased access and success in education for the youth we serve.

The lab process will be used to research, define, and design creative solutions focused on educational & learning needs in the wake of COVID-19.

Track C: Workforce Development Design Challenge

How might we rapidly mobilize the community to support workforce (including development) needs of transitional foster youth during the COVID-19 outbreak?

The goal of this track is to design a creative and sustainable solution that will provide increased access and success in employment for the youth we serve.

The lab process will be used to research, define, and design creative solutions focused on workforce development needs in the wake of COVID-19.

Track D: Social Behavior & Connectedness Design Challenge

How might we rapidly encourage social behavior and distancing necessary to protect transitional foster youth during the era of COVID-19?

The goal of this track is to design a creative and sustainable solution that will provide increased access and success in social connectedness for the youth we serve.

The lab process will be used to research, define, and design creative solutions focused on social behavior and connectedness needs in the wake of COVID-19.

Be sure to check out the Spring 2020 Lab Overview for general details.

Lab Orientation

Watch or re-watch the lab orientation (recorded on May 1st with partner).

Resource Hub Design

The resource hub was a creative solution proposed during an earlier Social Impact Lab cohort that was working on a very different challenge, related to meeting the specific housing-related needs of transitional foster youth. The resource hub was envisioned to help enable research, support relationships, and curate resources related to the unique housing needs of transitional foster youth. However, based on direct input from the prior lab impactathon, wireframes produced by lab participants explored a wider range of possibilities for a hub, such as containing resources about health, finances, etc. The concept was presented to the community, and attendees from New Avenues for Youth expressed interest in seeing the Resource Hub come to life!

New Avenues has a strong mentor program, where youth get 1:1 help to navigate ins and outs that come with transitioning out of system-provided housing (such as how to fill out a rental application, supply your first apartment, learn renters rights, etc.) but there is no central place that stores tips, documentation, or how-tos.

As one can imagine, the current use cases for a resource hub have only continued to expand in the time of COVID-19. We’re excited to re-approach the idea of a resource hub with new eyes in order to better identify staff and youth’s current needs, define design requirements, and build a prototype that could be beta-tested following the lab.

Background Information
- Read more about the original housing-related design challenge here
- Watch a quick video from one of the original lab team members

New Avenues for Youth Program information
- Housing Program - Read more about the housing programs supported by New Avenues for Youth - https://newavenues.org/supportive-housing
- Individualized Wraparound Services - Learn more about how New Avenues supports a broad spectrum services and programs relevant to the needs of transition foster youth - https://newavenues.org/case-management-counseling

Education & Learning

The population we serve is having to adapt to distance learning, including many that don’t have stable housing. Since the onslaught of COVID-19 we have had to temporarily shut down our GED program which many youth found more accessible than traditional high school. We are working on figuring out how to bring this program back knowing that we may have to maintain social distancing on some level for months to come. For students in public school and college, we are working to support them in accessing the technology needed to participate in distance learning and we are supporting them as they adapt to this new learning modality. 

New Avenues for Youth program information:

• Our education program [website]

• Avenues to College Program [website]

• Video from student in our Avenues to College Program sharing her experience [video link]

Other important resources:

• Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness, An Introduction to the Issues [PDF]

• National Conference of State Legislatures, Youth Homelessness Overview [website]

• Page 15 from Planning a Next-Generation Evaluation Agenda - For stats on the education experience of youth aging out of foster care and their disproportionate outcomes in education [see Lab Onboarding Resources]

• Video presentation from FACT Oregon - This Special Education and the IEP - Distance Learning Addition just came out in response to COVID. It is 2 hours long, but the distance learning part starts at 00:43 (43 minutes in) [click here for video]

Workforce Development

While New Avenues is still focused on supporting youth to find employment, a significant amount of resource is now being deployed to support youth in navigating unemployment, food stamps, and other benefits, as well as access to the stimulus check. A key issue is supporting our youth in being competitive in gaining employment during such high unemployment rates in Portland. 

The vast majority of the youth we serve are looking for entry-level positions. PAVE has been leveraging partnerships with businesses in the community to provide career exploration through tours, internships, and employment with local businesses. Each youth in the program is paired with a Career Coach to help them find employment and hone skills learned in the Job Readiness Training Program (offered by PAVE) to retain their employment.

New Avenues for Youth program information:

• PAVE - Our Promoting Avenues to Employment (PAVE) program is devoted to work readiness, skill development, and job placement. This gives a good glimpse into what PAVE did pre-COVID [website]

• PAVE Instragram feed - The program’s instagram and the newsletter in the bio shows more of what it looks like now [instagram]

Other important resources:

• Pages 28-30 from Planning a Next-Generation Evaluation Agenda [see Lab Onboarding Resources]

Social Behavior and Connectedness

The youth we serve tend to be disconnected and isolated from social supports because of factors including their trauma history, intersecting identities, unstable housing that causes frequent moves. With the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic there is a new level of isolation impacting everyone in our community and it is only compounding with the factors the youth we serve already face. 

New Avenues serves racially and culturally diverse youth in the Portland area (generally ranging in age from 13 to 24) who are experiencing homelessness and housing instability, including those with histories of abuse and intergenerational poverty, who struggle with mental-health and drug/alcohol issues, who are disconnected from family due to sexual orientation or gender identity, and who have histories of involvement in sex trafficking, the child welfare system, and the juvenile justice system.

Resources:

• Page 6 on social capital and Pages 11-16 from Embracing a Youth Welfare System [see Lab Onboarding Resources]

• Social Capital Issue Brief #2 from Annie E. Casey Foundation [online]