I feel very fortunate to be the lead consultant for the Western North Carolina Youth Homelessness Project, especially during a time of uncertainty for many longstanding youth programs. As we have been conducting qualitative research and analysis across Western North Carolina, hearing stories from countless individuals working directly with youth who experience housing insecurity, we hear time and time again that the most critical factors to a youth or young adult’s success are consistent support networks and help navigating our complex bureaucratic systems. Service coordinators like LINKS Coordinators and McKinney Vento Liaisons are essential to that support.
LINKS Coordinators, who work through the Department of Health and Human Services, assist youth ages 13–21 as they transition from foster care to independence. They offer life skills training, connect youth to community resources, and help them access critical services. McKinney-Vento Liaisons operate within public school systems to ensure that youth experiencing homelessness receive equitable access to education and needed support. Both roles are key in connecting young people to resources they’re eligible for. It should be noted some of these supports are at risk. The McKinney Vento program, which is federally funded through the Department of Education, faces major funding cuts that could potentially end the program altogether if Trump’s Executive Order calling for the shuttering of the Department of Education is substantial.
Youth aging out of foster care or experiencing housing instability often lack stable family support. Some are forced to leave home before they’re financially ready, while others live in unsafe or unstable environments. As they approach adulthood, these youth are navigating complex systems—applying for school, completing FAFSA, filing taxes—without the family guidance many of us had. Service coordinators not only help youth access services, they become a familiar, trusted presence in otherwise unstable lives.
LINKS Coordinators repeatedly emphasized the importance of building long-term, empathetic relationships. One noted, “When you’re there during the hard times, that’s what builds the rapport and the respect. So when you do have to say something that’s difficult, they handle it better because they know that you truly care about them.” Many youth leave the program temporarily after turning 18, only to return when they face mounting challenges. LINKS staff make it clear they’ll be there when youth are ready to come back.
One of the McKinney Vento coordinators gave an example of how important having a consistent service coordinator or case manager is, and a community of individuals working together to find unique solutions for a youth in need. She was working with an 18 year old in his senior year who had been kicked out of his home by his step father and had nowhere to go. He was too old for the youth shelter and the Salvation Army in their region had shut down so they could not get him an emergency shelter bed in their region. He was hesitant to go to a shelter out of town because he wanted to finish his high school education and needed to be close to school. Eventually HealthNet Gaston was able to help secure transportation and connect him to housing during the week and the school nurse offered to take him in on a weekend and help him get to prom. “Sometimes we get really, really involved and it takes a lot of creativity and a lot of work to get them help.”
While it is hard to quantify the impact McKinney Vento Liaisons and NC LINKS Coordinators have on youth, we do know that in the 2022-2023 school year, at least 3,450 students enrolled in grades PK-12 in the 20 counties included in this project were experiencing homelessness. One district, Gaston County, had reported up to 722 students as experiencing homelessness. The NC LINKS program served 3,813 youth and young adults ages 13-21 across the state in the fiscal year 2017-18. NC LINKS coordinators interviewed said they often serve up to 45-60 youth at one time and were often cited as a key resource available for youth. In many of our stakeholder interviews and focus groups with youth service providers, McKinney Vento Liaisons were cited as key sources of referrals for youth experiencing homelessness in need of services.
Many of those interviewed also expressed their preference of McKinney Vento’s definition of homelessness which includes “doubling up” or those who are unstably housed but still have a roof over their head whereas Housing and Urban Development definition does not consider this type of situation as “homeless”. In North Carolina, around 71% of homeless youth at NC schools are doubling up, meaning they would not qualify for HUD-funded services despite being in vulnerable housing situations.
What continues to inspire me throughout this project is the tireless dedication of the individuals who serve youth every day—often with limited resources and overwhelming caseloads. While programs and services exist to support youth, it’s often the people—case managers, liaisons, and coordinators—who make these systems work. Their ability to build trust, offer a warm handoff, and help youth navigate available resources is what holds our fragmented support system together. Youth need more than just access to services—they need someone who believes in them, helps them find their footing, and walks beside them as they build their future.
View our Portfolio to see how we apply these types of approaches.