Youth Economic Justice

Who Are We?

The Youth Economic Justice Coalition, powered by DC Action, brings together young people, community-based organizations, advocates, and policy experts to advance a bold public policy agenda to transform how the District responds to youth homelessness by integrating housing stability, mental health services, and career readiness.

Our Mission

The Youth Economic Justice Coalition works collaboratively to drive systemic transformation, secure policies and resources, and implement programs that address and eliminate economic and housing instability, ensuring all youth and families have the resources they need to thrive.

Our Focus

The Coalition centers career readiness and mental health as essential pillars of long-term stability. We advocate for policies that embed comprehensive, trauma-informed mental health services and workforce support directly within youth shelters and housing programs, ensuring young people have access to counseling, behavioral health care, and healing supports that address the root causes of instability as well as opportunities for economic mobility. Together, this approach helps reduce homelessness, recidivism, and build a future for young people filled with possibilities rather than just survival.

Youth Homelessness and Housing

Every young person deserves a safe, stable place to call home and the opportunity to build a healthy, fulfilling future. Yet each year, hundreds of young people in the District experience homelessness, often after aging out of foster care, navigating family conflict, or facing economic hardship. We work alongside young people, community partners, advocates, and policymakers to advance solutions that prevent and end youth homelessness by expanding access to stable housing, strengthening systems of support, and ensuring every young person has the resources they need to thrive.

Have questions? Contact Rachel White, Deputy Director of Youth Advocacy, at rwhite@dckids.org

Youth Mental Health

Mental health is essential to helping young people achieve long-term stability and well-being. We advocate for policies that integrate comprehensive, trauma-informed mental health services into youth shelters and housing programs, ensuring young people have access to counseling, behavioral health care, and healing supports alongside safe housing. By addressing mental health as part of a holistic approach to care, young people are better equipped to build healthy relationships, pursue their goals, and achieve lasting housing stability.

Have questions? Contact Rachel White, Deputy Director of Youth Advocacy, at rwhite@dckids.org

Expectant and Parenting Youth

Young parents experience housing instability and homelessness at higher rates than non-parenting youth for multiple reasons, including changes in levels of family support and increased financial and mental stress after becoming a parent. Raising a child in the District is expensive, and young people who may still be completing their education or just entering the workforce likely do not have access to the resources to afford all the necessary resources to raise a child: housing, child care, diapers, food, and more. We believe that Washington, DC must support these developing young people and their children to ensure that generations of District residents are set up to thrive.

The Context Team

To better inform our policy asks and solutions for local legislative and budget advocacy, we work with a group of young parents from DC, The Context Team. These young parents use their lived experience to help find solutions to the many barriers that they and other young parents face, so that all young parents can thrive in the District of Columbia.

Have questions? Contact Mary Katherine West, Youth Policy Analyst, at mkwest@dckids.org

Career Readiness and Workforce Development

Youth experiencing homelessness face significant barriers to completing post-secondary education and securing stable employment, making long-term economic mobility more difficult to achieve. Integrating career readiness into homelessness services helps ensure every young person leaves with a pathway to economic independence. By embedding workforce training, paid work experiences, industry-recognized credentials, financial coaching, and employer connections, shelters become launching pads rather than holding areas. These investments reduce the likelihood of future homelessness, build confidence and financial stability, and equip young people with the skills, experience, and opportunities they need to thrive and contribute to their communities.

Have questions? Contact Amy Dudas, Senior Advisor of Career Readiness, at adudas@dckids.org