Host or Sponsor a Youth
Transform a Life
Street life is difficult and does not need to be hopeless. You can help by hosting a youth in your home or sponsor a youth in a local hotel room for one night or multiple nights. One night can provide a much-needed reprieve from street life. Youth can focus more attention on creating a sustainable path to success out of homelessness.
Our dedicated hosts, drawn from the heart of our community, extend their homes to youth aged 18-25 facing crisis. You can be a beacon of stability and support, offering a safe space for these young lives to heal and thrive. Join us in creating a brighter future by providing short-term refuge or long-term care. Your open heart can make all the difference on their journey to stability and success
CORE VALUES
Addressing Systemic Barriers and Injustice for Youth
Seek to recognize and challenge systems of power that perpetuate barriers and injustice in young people’s lives (such as racism and classisism), and we are aware that not all youth get the same results through the same hard work under these systems.
Respecting Youth Choices: Acknowledging Their Right to Decide
Understand that all youth will sometimes make choices we don’t agree with, and we acknowledge the youth’s right to make those choices for themselves.
Inclusive Youth Empowerment at Our Ark
Value diversity in all its form, supporting youth regardless of their racial or ethnic identity, religious affiliations, or lack thereof, gender identity or sexual orientation.
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Fostering Shared Leadership through Leading by Example
Leading through example and fostering shared leadership.
Guiding Youth Work with Social Justice and Empowerment
Approach youth work through a lens of social justice and youth empowerment.
Trauma-Informed, Harm Reduction Strategies
Believe in trauma-informed and harm reduction strategies that affirm youths’ strengths and their own agency.
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Sponsor a Youth
A Host Home is not foster care.
🕰 Has Time & Capacity
✔ Is generally home or reachable in the evenings
Can provide consistent access to:
A safe place to sleep
Food and basic necessities
A calm, respectful home environment
Is Comfortable With Accountability
✔ Willingly completes background checks, home visits, and training
✔ Is open to feedback, check-ins, and ongoing learning
✔ Communicates concerns early rather than letting issues build
Leads With Respect & Inclusion
✔ Is affirming and respectful of LGBTQ+ youth
✔ Welcomes youth of different cultures, beliefs, and lived experiences
✔ Believes youth homelessness is rooted in systems and circumstances — not moral failure
What Host Parents Often Say
“I can’t fix everything — but I can be consistent.”
“I’m here to offer safety, not answers.”
“This young person’s story is theirs. I’m just part of it.”
A Final Encouragement
Some of the best host parents are:
Singles or couples
Empty nesters
Working professionals
Retirees
Families with older children
What they share is not a background — it’s a mindset.
Host Parent Profile
Who Is a Good Fit to Be a Host Parent?
A Host Home is not foster care.
Host parents don’t need to be perfect. They need to be steady, compassionate, and willing to learn.
A Good Fit for Hosting Is Someone Who…
🧠 Is Personally Stable
✔ Has stable housing and a predictable daily routine
✔ Is emotionally regulated and able to stay calm during stress
✔ Has space in their life — emotionally and practically — to welcome a young person
Stability matters more than wealth or experience.
Open to Learning
✔ Understands that youth may come in guarded, quiet, or distrustful
✔ Does not take withdrawal, silence, or mood shifts personally
✔ Is willing to learn about trauma, boundaries, and youth development
Respects Structure & Boundaries
✔ Can follow program guidelines, safety plans, and house agreements
✔ Is comfortable partnering with case managers, mentors, and staff
✔ Understands their role is support — not control or rescue
Supports Independence, Not Dependence
✔ Encourages youth to make choices and build life skills
✔ Celebrates progress, even when it’s slow or uneven
✔ Understands that success looks different for every young person
Our Ark coordinates with host families, preparing them to welcome a young person into their homes, supporting both during the housing experience. Our Ark continues working with the youth guest, ensuring they feel safe, comfortable and have what they need to thrive!