Increasing Stability and Peace of Mind with Flex Funds

In March 2024, a young person contacted the Youth Navigator Network asking for help. The young person reported that she was on leave from work and on doctor recommended bed rest, and that she didn’t know how she was going to pay her rent for the month of March without a paycheck. The YNN navigator and the young person talked about the YNN program: how the program works, the services offered, and the eligibility criteria for services. The young person confirmed that she was interested in YNN services, she was also eligible, and the navigator and young person began working together to help connect the young person with rental assistance programs in her area. The young person, however, was unable to obtain any immediate support, although she was placed on several waiting lists. After numerous rejections, this young person was rightfully discouraged.

It was around this time that the Youth Navigator Network introduced the YNN Flex Fund program, a funding opportunity that helps provide financial support to emancipated 21- and 22-year-olds, and navigator noted that this young person was eligible for this support. Working together, the young person and navigator completed a YNN Flex Fund funding request for rent on behalf of the young person, and it was approved. This was a good outcome! But it wasn’t the best part. Instead of helping with her rent for March, the YNN was able to pay her rent through the end of May, allowing her time to truly recover with the assurance that she wouldn’t lose her home.

It’s entirely possible that this young person would have found this support elsewhere, young people are resourceful; it’s also possible that she could have lost it all without the guidance, empathy, and financial support from the Youth Navigator Network.