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🎤 Youth Took the Mic — and Center Stage
Young adults with lived experience shared powerful stories of navigating foster care and homelessness. Their courage, insight, and wisdom grounded every session that followed.
With the words “Don’t just survive life, live it!” displayed in the center of her Vision Board, one panelist shared what stable housing means to her: “a place to call home without being scared of someone taking it away from me. I want to know what it’s like to live and not be terrified every single day of how I’m going to survive.”
Their voices weren’t merely featured — they were foundational. Their lived experience is shaping every solution we advance.
🤝 Collective Power: 34 Panel Experts Across 8 Dynamic Sessions
From elected officials and developers to faith leaders and technologists, the summit united brilliant minds across industries. Special thanks to our speakers, sponsors, panelists, volunteers, and — most importantly — the youth leading this movement.
🚀 Bold Ideas, Real Commitments
Breakout sessions tackled housing policy, voucher access, mentorship, and youth-designed solutions. The biggest news?
Santa Clara County is leading the way.
Board of Supervisors President Otto Lee closed the summit with a bold pledge:
✔️ Become a Fostering Promise pilot county
✔️ Set aside 500 housing units by 2027
✔️ Streamline voucher access
✔️ Help replicate the model across counties
“These commitments are bold but they are not symbolic,” President Lee said. “They are actionable and very necessary. Let’s be clear: This is one of the few areas of homelessness where we can truly say together we can solve this.”
🏛️ Federal Support Is Rising for Former Foster Youth
Will Spencer (HUD Region IX Administrator, AZ, CA, HI, NV, Pacific Islands) energized the “Keys to Stability” session:
“The work you do is critical, and HUD is proud to be a part of this effort—and that is not going to change.” HUD recently announced $25 million in new Foster Youth to Independence (FYI) voucher funding — a breakthrough for youth exiting foster care.
“At its core,” Spencer said, “FYI is about securing a pathway to adulthood that is grounded in stability, hope, and opportunity.
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