More than a Bed: How #CSTE2025 Partner AYA Youth Collective Fights Housing Instability by Building Relationships First

Each year, CSTE supports an organization or cause that is local to our Annual Conference host city. This year’s partnership is with the AYA Youth Collective of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Read today’s blog to hear about their great work—and afterwards, please consider donating in celebration of #CSTE2025. Our donation goal is in sight, and any funds raised beyond that will be a massive contribution to this amazing nonprofit.

AYA Youth Collective (AYA) is an organization providing circles of support for youth facing homelessness in Michigan. Housing insecurity is complex, and AYA has worked for years to address its many dimensions. As a result, they have created more connective, cohesive experiences for young people on their journey toward housing and stability. AYA stands for “As You Are,” and they are committed to providing resources and authentic relationships for every youth who walks through their door. We recently sat down with AYA’s Advancement Manager, Nokomis Clarey-Schultz, to learn more about their work.

How did the AYA Youth Collective get started?

AYA originated as two separate nonprofits, 3:11 Youth Housing and HQ. HQ was a drop-in center and 3:11 Youth Housing was a housing program. Both cared deeply about supporting youth with housing instability. After years of doing combined events together, they decided that it was natural to merge so that the drop-in center would have a direct path to the housing program. And more hands working together is never a bad thing.

Walk us through the process of how you help an individual facing housing instability.

When they come in, we first get an understanding of what's going on in their life. We figure out if they’re sleeping outside, in a shelter, or transitional housing. Are they at risk of being kicked out of their home? Questions like that. There's really no requirement for getting resources in our space. You don't have to be sleeping outside. You don't have to be sleeping in a shelter. There's really so many different levels of stability, and so we meet them where they are on that journey.

Everyone needs something different, so we start in a different place with everybody. Maybe it’s getting them something to eat or letting them take a shower or getting them a backpack for their stuff or a change of clothes. From there, we can start to say, “Hey, do you have Medicaid and food assistance? If you don't have those things, we can help.”

What are the specifics of AYA’s housing program?

Our housing program is special and unique. We've got 12 homes in Grand Rapids. We just broke ground on our 13th home, which is super exciting. We've had those other 12 for a long time, and so we're building a really cool new approach to housing with micro units. It's like a hotel; there's a kitchenette, your own bathroom and bedroom, and also a larger communal space.

In our housing program, in all of the homes, they're duplexes, so half the house is youth, the other half is a mentor. The mentor is somebody with lived experience. It can really be anybody that just cares deeply about supporting youth. We have people that are teachers or accountants or just therapists or people that care.

Switching gears, let’s talk about AYA’s drop-in services. On your website, it mentions help with vital document recovery, legal assistance, etc. How do those services play a role in helping an individual who’s facing housing instability?

I like to remind people that we're still dealing with 14 to 24 year olds. Most of them don't have access to their vital documents and most of that age in general are learning how to be a grown-up for the first time. They are learning how to make meals and to go grocery shopping. They are learning how to navigate the city. They're figuring out what it's like to have a job for the first or second or third time.

Vital documents are extremely important. Transportation is also huge for literally everything. Employment, housing, school, social life—you must have some sort of transportation. So, we work with another nonprofit in the area called Upcycle Bikes to provide our youth with free bikes, helmets, and locks. We also have the bus passes available. For some of them, the difference between having a job and keeping a job is just having transportation to get to work.

We have a ton of basic needs here that we provide for our youth when it comes to backpacks and clothes. We also have free laundry at our drop-in center. Laundry is huge for dignity. If you work in food service, which a lot of our youth do, you must have a clean uniform to keep that job.

Thank you so much for your time today. What are the best ways people can help with the issue of housing instability where they live?

Every city, every town, every state, every country—everybody has people that are experiencing housing instability. I would say a huge one is just advocating for those in your community. Being a good neighbor, learning your communities, learning the people in it, looking for other organizations in your area. Becoming a recurring donor somewhere is honestly one of the most helpful things. With AYA, if someone can give $5 to $10 a month, that makes a huge difference because we know we're going to get that continuously.

Advocacy is huge. Reading, learning, advocating for your neighbors, advocating for the people in your community that are being overlooked, and making sure that you acknowledge those folks as well. When you see people on the side of the road, say hello, wave, make them feel like humans. That's really important.

Learn more about AYA Youth Collective and make a donation today.