Getting Started: Creating a Host Home Program for Native Youth

Would Native youth in your community benefit from a host home program? 

Some ideas for getting started:

1. Find out who is already working with at-risk, homeless, or transitional youth in your community or in nearby towns.

• Search the FindYouthInfo.gov online database for youth programs in your area.
• Contact your State or local agency responsible for youth programming, the police department, or child welfare agencies for programs they recommend.
• Search for FYSB grantee agencies in your area.

2. Contact existing service providers.

• It may be easier to fund a fledgling Native host home program by teaming up with an existing service provider in a nearby town or urban area. Together, you can develop proposals that include a satellite office and a few host homes in an outlying, Tribal area.

3. Cast a wide funding net.

• The Council on Foundations provides a searchable database of community foundations across the country at www.communityfoundationlocator.org. Community foundations fund a diverse array of programs that address the issues impacting the local communities where they operate.
• The Foundation Center offers a searchable database of foundations athttp://fconline.fdncenter.org. This paid service searches for funding opportunities among thousands of private and corporate foundations.
• The National Clearinghouse on Families & Youth can advise you on how to find targeted funding for your program. Call (301) 608-8098.