Atlanta youth homelessness conference puts young people at the center of solutions

Young people are coming together Tuesday to discuss how to help their unhoused peers. From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., young adults are meeting at the Loudermilk Conference Center in Atlanta for the first-ever Youth Homelessness Systems Innovation Conference. Conference leaders say they will focus on sharing resources, system navigation, and reimagining a better system for young people facing homelessness. Advocates, attorneys, and others will also be here to help connect people with resources in Atlanta and Fulton County. "Our main focus is just trying to get as many young people, from ages 18 to 24, as possible to join this conversation and give young people resources and just let them now that they're being focused on, that they're a priority," said Aminata Dia, with the Youth Action Board. "A lot of the time we don't necessarily focus on youth homelessness; it's really overlooked, so we really wanted to center the youth because this is for them." Atlanta's Continuum of Care has 351 youth actively experiencing homelessness that they help. "I'm really passionate about this because me, myself, I've experienced being homeless from the age of 18; I ended up getting kicked out of my mom's house. Like, literally three weeks after I turned 18…She just took me and dropped me off at the shelter with my clothes, and from then on I had to thug it out by myself," Dia said. "The things I've experienced being in shelters and being out on the street, like there are so many things that should be addressed that haven't been addressed. Or there are so many things that are being addressed, but I don't think they're being addressed to the point of being, like it's not being addressed to the point of digging deep down." The conference will have free breakfast and lunch and will raffle off laptops, headphones, and a bike. Attendance is free, but participants must register. In: Homelessness Atlanta Featured Local Savings