POLICY & ADVOCACY
We believe lasting change for LA's youth means fixing the systems, not just the symptoms.
At Seed House Project, direct service is only half the battle. While our residential homes provide immediate stability, we actively advocate for systemic solutions to dismantle the barriers pushing foster, probation, and unhoused transition-age youth (TAY, ages 18–28) into homelessness.
Why Systemic Advocacy Is Urgent
According to our policy report, Repairing Wobbly Foundations: Youth Homelessness and Transitional Aged Youth Programming in Los Angeles (Khoury & Seed House Project, July 2026), critical structural gaps plague the system:
- Roughly 1,000 young adults exit foster care in Los Angeles County every year.
- Youth aging out of foster care and probation face severe homelessness risks, making up 10% of California's unhoused population.
- BIPOC young men are disproportionately impacted among Los Angeles's over 3,000 unhoused youth.
- State homelessness spending has dropped sharply from $6.9 billion in 2022–23 down to $1.5 billion in 2025–26.
- Reactive, housing-only approaches fail because they ignore mental health, trauma, and life skills.
Our Advocacy Priorities
Following the findings in Repairing Wobbly Foundations, we advocate for policies rooted in Healing-Centered Engagement and Social-Emotional Learning (SEL):
Extended Support Windows: Pushing for reforms like AB 1899 to expand housing subsidies and wraparound support for youth through age 28.
Healing-Centered Reforms: Moving beyond basic trauma-informed care toward holistic, community-driven mental health funding.
Real-World Competencies: Supporting state-wide financial literacy integration (such as AB 2927) and career mentorship models.
Our Advocacy Priorities
“Policy shouldn’t be made about us without us.”
Effective advocacy requires leadership from those who have navigated these systems. Seed House Project equips residents to share their lived expertise with lawmakers.
➔ Join Our Advocacy Network, email Shannon Cain at shannon@seedhouseproject.org