What Is the Tennessee Youth Action Board and Who Does It Represent?

Before diving into YAAB’s 2024-2025 policy wins, it helps to understand exactly what YAAB is, who it serves, and why a youth-led model produces results that top-down programs simply cannot replicate. This section lays that foundation.

A Peer-Led Network Rooted in Lived Experience

The Youth Action Board of Tennessee — known as YAAB — is not a government committee or a nonprofit board run by adults making decisions about young people. It is a statewide network led by and for young adults ages 17 to 25 who have personally experienced homelessness or housing instability. That distinction matters enormously. When a YAAB member walks into a policy meeting, they are not speaking in theory — they are speaking from nights spent in shelters, cars, or couch-surfing situations that no teenager should face.

YAAB operates across Tennessee’s eight Continuum of Care (CoC) regions, meaning its reach extends from Memphis and Shelby County in the west all the way to Northeast Tennessee and the Tri-Cities area in the east. Each regional YAAB chapter connects local youth voices to local decision-makers, while the statewide network amplifies those voices at the Tennessee state level.

Who Qualifies as a YAAB Member?

Membership is open to transition-age youth (TAY) — a term used across housing and social services to describe young adults between the ages of 17 and 25 who are navigating the gap between youth systems (like foster care or juvenile justice) and adult independence. You do not need a résumé or a college degree to join. What matters is your story and your willingness to use it to help others.

• Young adults currently experiencing homelessness or housing instability
• Youth who have aged out of Tennessee’s foster care system
• Young people who have previously experienced housing instability and want to give back
• Peers motivated to advocate for better policies and programs

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), young adults ages 18 to 24 represent approximately 13% of the total unhoused population in the United States on any given night — a figure that underscores why a dedicated, youth-led advocacy body like YAAB is not optional. It is essential.

Tennessee's Housing Crisis by the Numbers: Why Youth Advocacy Is Urgent Right Now

Advocacy without data is just noise. YAAB members come to every table armed with both their personal stories and the numbers that prove those stories are not isolated incidents — they are systemic patterns that demand systemic solutions.

Youth Homelessness in Tennessee's Major Cities

Tennessee’s annual Point-in-Time (PIT) count — a federally mandated single-night census of people experiencing homelessness — consistently shows that young adults are disproportionately represented in the unhoused population. In the 2024 PIT count, Tennessee CoC regions collectively identified over 7,500 individuals experiencing homelessness, with transition-age youth (17-25) making up a significant share across every region. Memphis/Shelby County (TN-500), Nashville/Davidson County (TN-501), and Knoxville/Knox County (TN-502) reported the highest absolute numbers, while rural regions like the Upper Cumberland (TN-507) and Northeast Tennessee (TN-509) face unique challenges around geographic isolation and limited shelter capacity.

Critically, experts believe PIT counts undercount youth homelessness by as much as 50-70% because young people are more likely to be hidden — staying with friends, in cars, or in abandoned buildings rather than in visible encampments or shelters.

The Foster Care Pipeline to Homelessness

One of the most urgent drivers of youth homelessness in Tennessee is the foster care system’s aging-out cliff. Each year, hundreds of Tennessee youth age out of foster care at 18 — often with little savings, no family safety net, and limited access to affordable housing. Research from Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago found that youth who age out of foster care are twice as likely to experience homelessness within two years of leaving care compared to their peers.

Tennessee’s Department of Children’s Services (DCS) has extended some supports to age 21 through the Extended Foster Care program, but awareness and enrollment remain inconsistent across the state’s 95 counties. YAAB members who have lived this experience are uniquely positioned to identify these gaps and push for concrete fixes — which is exactly what they have been doing in 2024-2025.

How YAAB Members Actually Influence Policy: The Advocacy Pipeline

Understanding YAAB’s impact requires understanding how youth voices actually travel from lived experience to enacted policy. The pathway is more structured — and more powerful — than most people realize.

From Lived Experience to Legislative Testimony

YAAB’s advocacy model is built on a simple but powerful principle: nothing about us without us. In practice, this means YAAB members are not just consulted after decisions are made — they are embedded in the decision-making process from the start. In 2024, YAAB members participated in public comment periods for HUD’s Continuum of Care Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), providing testimony that directly shaped how Tennessee CoC regions prioritized youth-specific housing projects in their funding applications.

At the state level, YAAB members have testified before Tennessee General Assembly committees examining foster care reform, affordable housing funding, and workforce development for young adults. This kind of direct legislative engagement is rare for young people — and it is transformative both for the policies that result and for the members themselves, who build confidence, communication skills, and civic knowledge that serve them for life.

Participating in Continuum of Care Governance

Each of Tennessee’s eight CoC regions has a governing board that makes critical decisions about which housing programs receive federal funding, how resources are allocated, and what performance standards providers must meet. YAAB members hold seats at these tables — not as token youth representatives, but as voting or advisory members with real influence over real dollars.

This matters because CoC funding decisions directly determine whether a city has a youth-specific shelter, a rapid rehousing program for young adults, or a transitional housing option for youth aging out of foster care. When YAAB members advocate for youth set-asides in CoC funding competitions, they are not asking for charity — they are demanding that federal dollars reach the people they are legally intended to serve.

Co-Designing Programs with Service Providers

Beyond formal governance, YAAB members work directly with shelters, housing agencies, and support service providers to improve how programs actually feel and function for young people. This includes reviewing intake processes to remove stigmatizing language, advising on shelter rules that may inadvertently push youth away (like strict curfews that conflict with work schedules), and helping design peer-support components that make services more accessible.

Research consistently shows that programs co-designed with their intended users have significantly higher engagement and retention rates. For youth homelessness services, where trust is often the biggest barrier to access, having a peer who has been through the system explain and champion a program can be the difference between a young person getting help and going without.

2024-2025 Policy Wins: What Tennessee YAAB Members Have Helped Change

Policy advocacy is slow work, and wins are rarely dramatic. But in 2024-2025, Tennessee YAAB members have notched real, measurable changes — the kind that show up in program rules, funding priorities, and the daily experiences of young people across the state.

Advancing Youth-Specific Housing Priorities in CoC Funding Rounds

One of YAAB’s most concrete 2024-2025 victories has been its sustained push to ensure that Tennessee’s CoC funding applications explicitly prioritize youth-dedicated housing units and programs. HUD’s CoC program does not automatically earmark funds for young adults — local CoC boards decide how to allocate resources. YAAB members across multiple regions have successfully advocated for their CoCs to include youth-specific Rapid Rehousing (RRH) and Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) projects in their funding applications, increasing the pipeline of housing options available to 17-to-25-year-olds.

Rapid Rehousing programs, which provide short-term rental assistance and case management to help individuals move quickly from homelessness into stable housing, have been shown to reduce the duration of homelessness by an average of 40-60% compared to emergency shelter stays alone — making them a high-impact target for YAAB advocacy.

Pushing for Youth-Informed Shelter Standards

In 2024, YAAB members in multiple Tennessee regions contributed to reviews of emergency shelter policies, flagging rules that disproportionately excluded or discouraged young adults. Common barriers identified included: age restrictions that left 17-year-olds in a gray zone between youth and adult shelters; pet prohibitions that forced youth to choose between their emotional support animals and a safe bed; and rigid curfews incompatible with evening work shifts.

As a direct result of YAAB member feedback, at least two Tennessee CoC regions updated their shelter standards guidance to include youth-specific accommodation requirements — a tangible, durable policy change that will benefit young people for years to come, regardless of which individuals are currently experiencing homelessness.

Amplifying the Case for Extended Foster Care and Transition Supports

YAAB members with foster care experience have been among the most vocal advocates for strengthening Tennessee’s Extended Foster Care program and the associated Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood (Chafee) funding. In 2024-2025, YAAB members participated in state-level conversations about how Chafee dollars are spent in Tennessee, advocating for more funding to flow toward housing deposits, driver’s license fees, and other concrete barriers that young people aging out of care face immediately upon turning 18.

Their testimony has helped shift the conversation from abstract program design to specific, practical supports — the kind of granular detail that only someone who has actually aged out of foster care would know to ask for.

Regional YAAB Spotlights: Local Impact Across Tennessee's 8 CoC Regions

YAAB’s statewide structure means that youth advocacy is not concentrated only in Tennessee’s biggest cities. Every region has a chapter, and every chapter is doing work that reflects the specific realities of young people in that community.

Memphis/Shelby County (TN-500) and Nashville/Davidson County (TN-501)

Tennessee’s two largest urban CoCs face the highest absolute volumes of youth homelessness and, correspondingly, the most complex service landscapes. YAAB members in Memphis have been active in the Memphis Shelby CoC’s youth subcommittee, helping to evaluate the effectiveness of existing youth shelter programs and advocating for expanded low-barrier options that do not require sobriety or ID documentation as conditions of entry. In Nashville, YAAB members have engaged with the Metro Homelessness Commission and participated in the annual Community Review Board process, which evaluates the performance of CoC-funded programs and determines renewal funding.

Nashville’s rapid population growth — the city added over 30,000 residents between 2022 and 2024 — has driven rental costs to record highs, with the median one-bedroom apartment now exceeding $1,400/month, making youth-specific rental assistance programs more critical than ever.

Knoxville/Knox (TN-502), Chattanooga/Hamilton (TN-503), and Jackson/West TN (TN-504)

In Knoxville, YAAB members have worked alongside the Knoxville-Knox County Continuum of Care to highlight the intersection of youth homelessness and educational disruption — particularly for young adults who left high school during periods of instability and are now seeking GED pathways and workforce training. In Chattanooga, YAAB engagement has focused on the city’s growing transitional housing inventory and ensuring that young adults are not systematically passed over in favor of older adults with longer homelessness histories. In Jackson and West Tennessee, where rural geography means fewer shelter options and longer distances to services, YAAB members have advocated for mobile outreach funding and transportation assistance as housing-adjacent supports.

Upper Cumberland (TN-507), Northeast TN (TN-509), and Remaining Regions

Rural Tennessee presents distinct challenges that urban-focused policy frameworks often miss. In the Upper Cumberland region — covering counties like Putnam, Overton, and White — YAAB members have highlighted the near-total absence of youth-specific shelter beds, meaning young people experiencing homelessness in these areas have virtually no local options and must travel hours to access services in larger cities. Northeast Tennessee, anchored by the Tri-Cities area (Johnson City, Kingsport, Bristol), has seen YAAB members engage with local CoC partners on rapid rehousing expansion and the unique needs of young adults in communities with high rates of substance use disorder and limited behavioral health infrastructure.

Across all regions, YAAB members are connecting their peers to local resources — you can explore your regional YAAB chapter to find the team closest to where you are in Tennessee.

YAAB's Role in Connecting Youth to Housing, Jobs, and Education Resources

Policy change is the long game. But YAAB members also show up every day to help their peers access resources right now — because no one should have to wait for systemic change to get a safe place to sleep tonight.

Housing Navigation and Rapid Rehousing Referrals

YAAB members do not just advocate for better programs — they help their peers access the programs that already exist. One of YAAB’s most direct service functions is peer-to-peer resource navigation: helping young adults understand their options, complete applications, and navigate systems that can feel overwhelming or hostile. This includes connecting peers to Coordinated Entry, the standardized intake process that all HUD-funded CoC programs use to assess and prioritize individuals for housing services.

Many young adults do not know that Coordinated Entry exists, or that they may qualify for Rapid Rehousing assistance that could move them into a stable apartment within 30 to 90 days. YAAB members who have been through the process themselves are often the most effective guides — they know which questions to ask, which documents to gather, and how to advocate for yourself when the system feels unresponsive.

Employment and Financial Literacy Pathways

Stable housing and stable income are inseparable. YAAB members frequently help peers connect to Tennessee’s workforce development ecosystem, including Tennessee Career Centers (the state’s American Job Centers), which offer free job search assistance, résumé help, and access to training programs. For young adults without a high school diploma, YAAB also points peers toward GED and HiSET preparation programs available through Tennessee’s adult education system — programs that are free for qualifying individuals and available in every county.

Financial literacy is another area where YAAB’s peer model shines. Young adults who have experienced homelessness often have no credit history, unpaid medical bills, or prior evictions that make renting difficult. YAAB members share practical knowledge about credit-building, security deposit assistance programs, and tenant rights — the kind of street-level financial education that no classroom fully covers.

Mental Health and Wellness Connections

Homelessness and housing instability take a serious toll on mental health. Research published in the Journal of Adolescent Health found that young adults experiencing homelessness are three times more likely to report serious psychological distress compared to housed peers. YAAB members are trained to recognize when a peer may need mental health support and to connect them to community mental health centers, crisis lines like the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, and trauma-informed care providers across Tennessee.

Critically, YAAB approaches mental health without stigma — framing it as a natural response to difficult circumstances, not a personal failing. This peer-led, non-clinical framing makes young adults significantly more likely to seek help.

What Makes the Youth-Led Model More Effective Than Traditional Approaches

It is worth pausing to ask: why does a youth-led model produce better outcomes than traditional service delivery? The answer comes down to trust, relevance, and the irreplaceable value of lived experience in identifying what actually needs to change.

Trust Is the Foundation of Access

The single biggest barrier between a young person experiencing homelessness and the services designed to help them is often trust. Many young adults have had negative experiences with institutions — schools, foster care, law enforcement, shelters — that make them deeply skeptical of systems that claim to want to help. A peer who has been through the same experiences, who speaks the same language, and who has no institutional agenda is exponentially more likely to be believed and followed.

This is not anecdotal. A 2022 study by the National Alliance to End Homelessness found that youth-led outreach programs achieved engagement rates 35-45% higher than traditional adult-led outreach for the same population. When YAAB members do outreach, they are not strangers with clipboards — they are neighbors with receipts.

Lived Experience Catches What Data Misses

Policy makers and program designers, no matter how well-intentioned, work primarily from data — PIT counts, intake forms, program utilization rates. Data is essential, but it has blind spots. It does not capture the shelter that feels unsafe because of how staff talk to LGBTQ+ youth. It does not capture the housing program that requires a phone number for follow-up when the applicant does not have a phone. It does not capture the intake form that asks questions in ways that feel accusatory rather than supportive.

YAAB members catch these things because they have lived them. Their feedback directly improves program design in ways that no amount of external evaluation can fully replicate. This is why HUD’s own guidance on CoC programs increasingly emphasizes meaningful youth participation as a quality indicator — not a nice-to-have, but a marker of program effectiveness.

Tennessee's Continuum of Care System: A Quick Guide for Young Adults

The Continuum of Care system can feel like a maze if no one has explained it to you. Here is a plain-language breakdown of how it works and how to use it — because knowing the system is the first step to navigating it successfully.

What Is a Continuum of Care and Why Does It Matter to You?

A Continuum of Care (CoC) is a regional planning body funded by HUD that coordinates housing and services for people experiencing homelessness. Tennessee has eight CoC regions, each covering a specific geographic area. The CoC decides which programs get federal funding, sets performance standards for providers, and is supposed to ensure that the full range of housing options — from emergency shelter to permanent housing — is available in the community.

For a young adult experiencing homelessness, the CoC is the system that determines whether there is a shelter bed available tonight, whether there is a Rapid Rehousing program that can help you get an apartment next month, and whether there is a Permanent Supportive Housing unit available if you have a disability that makes independent living difficult. Understanding how it works — and knowing that YAAB members have seats at the table — is empowering information.

How to Access CoC-Funded Services Through Coordinated Entry

The front door to most CoC-funded housing services is Coordinated Entry — a standardized process where a trained assessor evaluates your situation and matches you to available programs based on your needs and vulnerability. To access Coordinated Entry in Tennessee, you typically contact a designated access point in your region — this might be a shelter, a community organization, or a 2-1-1 call (dial 211 from any phone to reach Tennessee’s statewide information and referral service).

Key things to know about Coordinated Entry as a young adult:

• You do not need an ID to be assessed in most regions (YAAB has advocated for this)
• You have the right to be assessed regardless of sobriety status in low-barrier programs
• Youth-specific programs may have separate access points — ask specifically about youth housing options
• If you are 17, you may be able to access services in both youth and adult systems depending on your region

Tennessee CoC Regions at a Glance: Youth Housing Landscape 2024-2025

Each of Tennessee's eight Continuum of Care regions has a distinct geography, population size, and youth housing landscape. This table summarizes key characteristics to help young adults and providers understand the regional context.

Knowing Your Rights: What Every Young Adult in Tennessee Should Know

One of the most empowering things YAAB does is make sure young adults know what they are entitled to — because systems designed to help you work a lot better when you know your rights within them.

Housing Rights for Transition-Age Youth

Many young adults do not realize they have legal protections even when experiencing homelessness. Tennessee law and federal law both provide important rights that YAAB members help their peers understand and assert:

• McKinney-Vento Act: If you are homeless and have school-age siblings or are yourself enrolled in a K-12 program, McKinney-Vento guarantees immediate enrollment and transportation. For young adults in GED programs, check with your local adult education provider about similar protections.
• Fair Housing Act: It is illegal to discriminate in housing based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or disability. Tennessee also has local ordinances in some cities that extend additional protections.
• Tenant Rights: Once you sign a lease, Tennessee law requires landlords to maintain habitable conditions and follow proper eviction procedures — they cannot simply lock you out without a court order.

YAAB members are not lawyers, but they can connect you to free legal aid resources, including Tennessee Justice Center and regional legal aid organizations that provide free housing legal assistance to low-income individuals.

Rights in Shelter Settings

Emergency shelters that receive federal CoC funding must follow HUD’s requirements, which include non-discrimination policies and standards around how residents are treated. If you experience discrimination or mistreatment in a federally funded shelter — including based on gender identity or sexual orientation — you have the right to file a complaint with HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO).

YAAB members have been instrumental in educating their peers about these rights, which many young adults in shelter settings are completely unaware of. Knowledge of your rights does not solve every problem, but it gives you a foundation to advocate for yourself — and YAAB can help you do that.

For more on understanding the systems that affect young people in Tennessee, visit YAAB’s youth homelessness resource page for plain-language guides and regional information.

How to Get Involved with YAAB: Your Voice Belongs at the Table

If you are a young adult in Tennessee with lived experience of homelessness or housing instability, YAAB is not just an organization you can support — it is a community that was built for you and needs your voice to keep doing what it does.

What Joining YAAB Actually Looks Like

Joining YAAB is not like applying for a job or a scholarship — there is no competitive selection process designed to filter people out. YAAB wants to hear from young adults across Tennessee who have lived experience of homelessness or housing instability and who want to use that experience to make things better for others. The application process is straightforward, and YAAB provides support to help members participate fully, including help with transportation, stipends for participation, and flexible meeting formats.

As a YAAB member, you might:

• Attend monthly regional meetings and share your perspective on local housing issues
• Participate in statewide advocacy days and meet with state legislators
• Help review and improve service provider programs in your community
• Represent youth voices on CoC committees and working groups
• Mentor newer members and connect peers to resources

Many YAAB members describe their involvement as one of the most transformative experiences of their lives — not because it is easy, but because it is meaningful. You are not just helping yourself; you are changing the system for every young person who comes after you.

Finding Your Regional YAAB Chapter

Tennessee’s eight CoC regions each have their own YAAB chapter, and the right starting point depends on where you are in the state. Whether you are in Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Jackson, the Upper Cumberland, Northeast Tennessee, or another part of the state, there is a regional team ready to connect with you.

Each regional chapter operates with some autonomy — reflecting the specific priorities and resources of its community — while staying connected to the statewide YAAB network. This means you get both local relevance and statewide reach when you join.

To find your chapter and learn about upcoming meetings and opportunities, explore YAAB’s regional chapters page — it lists contact information and details for every Tennessee CoC region.

For Case Managers and CoC Partners: How to Support YAAB Engagement

YAAB’s impact multiplies when the professionals and organizations in Tennessee’s housing and services ecosystem actively support youth engagement. Here is how providers and CoC partners can play a meaningful role.

Referring Young Adults to YAAB

If you are a case manager, housing navigator, outreach worker, or service provider working with transition-age youth in Tennessee, one of the highest-impact referrals you can make is to your local YAAB chapter. YAAB membership gives young adults access to a supportive peer community, leadership development opportunities, and a direct pathway to influence the systems they are navigating — all of which have documented positive effects on housing stability, mental health, and long-term outcomes.

When making a referral, frame YAAB as an opportunity, not an obligation. Young adults who have been through difficult experiences are often wary of being directed into programs. Lead with what YAAB offers: community, voice, and the chance to make a real difference. Stipends for participation and flexible scheduling make it accessible even for young adults who are working or in school.

Partnering with YAAB on Program Design and Evaluation

YAAB is also available as a partner for CoC-funded organizations that want to incorporate meaningful youth input into their program design, policy development, or evaluation processes. HUD increasingly expects CoC applicants to demonstrate youth participation in their planning processes — YAAB can help your organization meet that standard authentically, not just on paper.

Authentic partnership means compensating youth for their time and expertise, creating accessible participation formats, and actually implementing feedback rather than just collecting it. YAAB members have experience identifying when they are being engaged meaningfully versus when they are being used as a checkbox — and they will tell you the difference directly, which is exactly the kind of honest feedback that makes programs better.

To learn more about YAAB’s advocacy work and how your organization can get involved, visit the YAAB advocacy page for current priorities and partnership opportunities.

Take the Next Step: Get Connected, Get Involved, Get Heard

The most important thing you can do after reading this article is take one concrete next step — whether that is reaching out to your regional YAAB chapter, sharing this resource with a peer who needs it, or simply knowing that a network of young people across Tennessee is fighting for a better system and that you are welcome to be part of it.

Resources Available to You Right Now

Whether you are a young adult looking for housing help, a peer who wants to get involved in advocacy, or a provider looking to partner with YAAB, there are clear next steps available to you today. Tennessee’s YAAB network is active, growing, and ready to connect — and the resources on the YAAB website are designed to be useful whether you are in Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, or a rural county with limited local options.

• Find housing resources in your region: Visit YAAB’s resources page for links to shelter, housing, employment, and mental health supports across Tennessee.
• Learn about YAAB’s current projects and campaigns: See what YAAB members are working on right now by checking out YAAB’s active projects page — it is the best place to understand where youth advocacy energy is focused in 2024-2025 and how you can plug in.
• Join YAAB: If you are between 17 and 25 and have lived experience of homelessness or housing instability in Tennessee, your voice belongs at the table. The process is welcoming and the community is real.

The Work Is Not Done — But It Is Working

Youth homelessness in Tennessee is not solved. Shelter beds are still too few. Affordable housing is still too scarce. Young people are still aging out of foster care without the support they need. But the trajectory is changing — because young adults across Tennessee have decided that their lived experience is not a liability. It is their greatest qualification.

YAAB members are in the rooms where decisions get made. They are reviewing shelter policies, testifying before committees, advising CoC boards, and connecting their peers to resources that can change the course of a life. Every young adult who joins YAAB makes that network stronger, more representative, and more powerful.

If you are in Tennessee and you have been through it — the instability, the uncertainty, the feeling that the system was not built for you — YAAB was built by people like you, for people like you. And it needs you at the table.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Youth Action Board (YAAB) of Tennessee?

The Youth Action Board (YAAB) of Tennessee is a statewide network of young adults ages 17 to 25 with lived experience of homelessness or housing instability. YAAB members advise local and state leaders, participate in Continuum of Care governance, and connect their peers to housing, employment, education, and mental health resources across Tennessee's eight CoC regions.

How can I join YAAB in Tennessee if I have experienced homelessness?

If you are between 17 and 25 and have lived experience of homelessness or housing instability in Tennessee, you can join your regional YAAB chapter. There is no competitive application — YAAB is designed to be accessible, and participation stipends and flexible scheduling are available. Visit yaabtn.org/join/ or find your regional chapter at yaabtn.org/local-yaabs/ to get started.

What housing resources are available for young adults experiencing homelessness in Tennessee?

Tennessee young adults can access emergency shelter, Rapid Rehousing programs, and Permanent Supportive Housing through their regional Continuum of Care. Start by calling 211 to reach Tennessee's information and referral line, or contact your local CoC's Coordinated Entry access point. YAAB's resources page at yaabtn.org/resources/ also lists regional supports.

What is Coordinated Entry and how does a young adult use it in Tennessee?

Coordinated Entry is the standardized intake process used by HUD-funded CoC programs to assess individuals experiencing homelessness and match them to available housing programs. To access it in Tennessee, call 211 or contact a designated access point in your region — such as a shelter or community organization. You generally do not need an ID to be assessed, and youth-specific programs may have separate access points.

How does YAAB influence Tennessee housing policy?

YAAB members influence housing policy by holding seats on Continuum of Care governing boards, providing public testimony on HUD funding applications and state legislative committees, co-designing shelter and housing programs with service providers, and advocating for youth-specific funding priorities. Their lived experience gives them credibility and insight that external evaluators cannot replicate.

What rights do young adults experiencing homelessness have in Tennessee?

Young adults experiencing homelessness in Tennessee have rights under the Fair Housing Act, tenant protection laws, and HUD's non-discrimination requirements for federally funded shelters — including protections based on gender identity and sexual orientation. Free legal aid is available through organizations like Tennessee Justice Center. YAAB members can help connect you to legal resources and explain your rights in plain language.