TAMPA, Florida — Youth homelessness in Hillsborough County is a growing issue, with area leaders citing a rising cost of living, limited wage growth, and a lack of affordable housing.
According to the Florida Department of Education, from 2021 to 2022 in Hillsborough County, more than 4,500 students found themselves unhoused. That's up from roughly 4,000 in the previous recorded period, 2020 through 2021.
One local organization that works to combat youth homelessness is the Tampa Hillsborough Homeless Initiative, specifically its Youth Action Board. The Youth Action Board is led by two young women who know the struggles of youth homelessness first-hand.
Chair Zamaya Clark explained, "When you're homeless, you're not able to think about school, able to think about anything else but 'I have nowhere to sleep. I have nowhere to eat, or to bathe. I need to figure out my next meal.'"
Co-Chair A'Diva Slade also knows what that uncertainty is like.
"I was homeless as a kid," Slade said. "We've been evicted, staying in hotels multiple times. It's just like that, in and out my entire life."
Now, the pair pull from their lived experience to help other young people who are unhoused across Hillsborough County. It's a dream job for both women.
"Since I was a little girl, this has been my passion. And it didn't become about youth until I was part of the youth that was homeless because mine was just broad. If I see somebody on the street, I'm giving them money," Clark said.
Slade feels that she and Clark are well-suited to the job of connecting with homeless youths.
"I feel like they will understand more and they will feel more cared for and safer, secure around us, just not judging them because we've been in that same state," said Slade.
Last week, THHI was awarded a $4.6 million grant by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to expand its youth services.
"Now that we got the funding for it, the first thing that we want to do is most definitely get therapy involved," Clark said. That includes peer counseling. "It's more comfortable when you can be able to say, hey, I've been through this, this, and this, and then I don't give you like the professional response for it, but they can actually feel you and understand you."
Tampa Hillsborough Homeless Initiative Youth Action Board helps find housing for people ages 16 to 24. For more information about its services, click here.