Youth Advisory Board

The Youth Advisory Board (YAB) is a youth-led leadership group, consisting of young people who are either experiencing homelessness or are at-risk of homelessness. YAB serves as a platform to collaboration, community-building, and improving program outcomes to better serve vulnerable youth.

Northwest Compass revitalized its Youth Advisory Board in February 2024, led by youth with diverse backgrounds, languages, and lived experiences. Youth leaders discussed positive aspects of programming and made suggestions for improvement. Some interesting findings that emerged are as follows:

• • • • Transportation was most often identified as a major obstacle to finding and/or maintaining a well-paying job.
      • Youth reported that loneliness and feeling alone in their situation could be an area of further development.
      • Half of the participants first experienced homelessness and food insecurity at age 18.
      • Most of the youth noted being connected to food pantry, educational support, and external, federal services (i.e., SNAP, Medicaid) was an area of strength for Northwest Compass.
      • More than half indicated that communication was another area of strength, as well as providing compassionate service.

If you or someone you know are a youth in the Northwest suburbs interested in participating in the Youth Advisory Board or have questions, please email [email protected] or call +1 224 805 2837 today.

Professional Clothing Closet

The Youth Department is collecting gently used and/or new professional clothing for our youth clients. This allows them to have clothing for job interviews, networking events, and job events. These items go directly to our youth clients as they work toward self-sufficiency and stabilization.

What kind of items are accepted?

• Women’s and Men’s clothing
• Dress shirts
• Undershirts in solid colors (i.e., black, white, gray, navy)
• Blouses
• Dress Pants
• Blazers
• Accessories (i.e., belts, dress shoes)

Items can be dropped off at Northwest Compass

Thank you for your support