INDIANA— The Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority (IHCDA) is launching a recruitment effort for its Youth Advisory Board (YAB), seeking young people and young adults with lived experience to help shape housing solutions for those facing homelessness across the state.
The IHCDA is encouraging individuals aged 14–24 who have experienced housing insecurity to apply and use their knowledge to impact policy decisions and improve housing solutions statewide.
The goal of the Youth Advisory Board is to leverage the perspective of those directly affected by housing challenges to create more effective and equitable support systems.
What the Advisory Board Does
Board members commit to serving for one year and are compensated for their time. Their responsibilities include:
- Impact Policy Decisions: Offering firsthand insight to influence policies and programming.
- Impact Funding Decisions: Providing input regarding funding decisions for youth and young adult housing grants.
- Support Statewide Initiatives: Reviewing youth housing grant work and grant applications.
- Advocate and Educate: Sharing stories and ideas to improve housing solutions and educating peers and partners.
- Participate in Meetings and Events: Joining monthly meetings (mostly virtual, with one in-person meeting per year) and representing the board at events and conferences.
Requirements and How to Join
To be eligible for the Youth Advisory Board, applicants must:
- Have lived experience with homelessness or housing insecurity.
- Be between the ages of 14 and 24.
- Be committed to attending monthly meetings.
- Be motivated to “Make a difference in Indiana.”
Those ready to join this initiative can learn more by contacting Megan Hershey, Project Consultant, via email at m.hershey@transformconsultinggroup.com.
Alternatively, applications can be submitted online by visiting the direct link: bit.ly/yab-application.
