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A New Way for Sacramento Youth to Find Local Resources
A message from Geoffrey Fralick, Youth Program Specialist, Sacramento Steps Forward
On September 30, we launched the Sacramento Youth Resource Guide (SYRG) app, a new mobile tool designed to make it easier for transition-aged youth to find local resources and connect with support.
I have worked with youth programs for more than five years and that experience has shown me how important a project like this is for our community. I have seen how quickly a young person can find themselves in a difficult situation without the resources or support network that many adults have had more time to build.
Youth experiencing homelessness or housing instability may be trying to finish school, find their first job, navigate health care or learn how to live independently while also figuring out where they are going to sleep. Some are leaving foster care or other systems without a stable family network to fall back on. In those circumstances, even figuring out what resources exist, who qualifies and how to reach them can become one more hurdle.
Putting local resources in one mobile place
The SYRG app gives users a new way to search for services directly from their phone. It includes information about housing and shelter, food, health and wellness, transportation, employment, education, legal services, basic needs and other community resources.
That information comes directly from 2-1-1 Sacramento’s database. Rather than creating a separate resource directory, the SYRG app makes an existing source of local information available in a searchable, mobile format. Users can search by keyword, explore by location, save resources they want to revisit, and connect with 2-1-1 Sacramento when they want additional assistance navigating their options.
Because the SYRG app was developed with youth-focused funding, its design centers the needs and experiences of transition-aged youth (generally, those from 16-24 years old). The Sacramento Continuum of Care’s Youth Action Board brought the perspective of youth with lived experience into conversations about how the app should function, what it should include and how people may actually use it.
The SYRG app was developed in partnership with the Youth Action Board, 2-1-1 Sacramento, SkyClutch and Sacramento Steps Forward using funding from California’s Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention Program and federal Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program.
Caleb Merrill, a Youth Action Board member who also serves on the CoC Board, Governance Committee and Project Review Committee, described what that collaboration means for the app:
“The Sacramento Youth Resource Guide is a community resource navigation app developed [that] empowers people to find the vital resources they need in an easy, interactive, and personalized way. From housing and wellness services to food and respite centers, this app brings our community's resources into the pockets of youth and the case managers who support them on their journey.”
The app is not restricted by age. Anyone who could benefit from having local resources available in one mobile place can use it, and we encourage case managers, clients and community members of all ages to download the app and see how it may be useful to them.
A tool for clients and the people working with them
The SYRG app was built so someone can use it independently, but it can be just as useful when a provider and client are looking for options together.
A case manager can open the app during an appointment, search alongside a client and talk through what is available. An outreach worker can use it to quickly look up nearby services in the field. And for someone who is not already connected to the homelessness response system, the app offers another place to begin looking for resources.
The SYRG app is not a replacement for 2-1-1 Sacramento, the Coordinated Access System or the providers doing this work every day. It is a tool for connecting people with existing resources and systems.
There are also limits to what any app can do. It cannot create housing where there is a shortage or make a service available when a program is full. What it can do is make information easier to find, put it in a format people can carry with them and provide another path to the services that are available.
Help us keep improving the SYRG app
Now that the SYRG app is in people’s hands, we want to know how it is working in practice.
We are continuing to work with youth, providers and community partners to fine-tune the app. As you use it, you may notice information that could be clearer, a feature that could work better or a resource you think should be easier to find.
Please send recommendations to syrg@sacstepsforward.org or submit feedback directly through the app. Feedback from the people using the SYRG app, and from providers sharing it with clients, will help us continue improving it.
Learn more and download the app ➜
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