For over a decade, the West Coast Convening has brought together people doing the hard work of ending youth homelessness. Service providers, researchers, government partners, advocates, and young people with lived experience have gathered twice a year to share what's working, wrestle with what isn't, and build the kind of relationships that make real change possible.
The idea is simple: only by working together can we make real progress for the young people on our streets. The Convening has always been a place to cut through silos, learn from communities across California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska, and leave with something practical to bring back home.
Over 14 convenings, we've covered housing innovation, direct cash transfer programs, trauma-informed care, policy and advocacy, and much more. The most recent Convening, WCC XIV in San Diego in November 2024, brought together over 125 attendees.
The thing people valued most, year after year, was the same: the connections. Getting in a room with other people who care, and being honest about the work.
YP2F has been proud to support the facilitation of the West Coast Convening over the years in collaboration with many partners across the west coast. It has been meaningful work, and we believe deeply in its value to the field.
That said, we want to be upfront with you and answer questions that (we consistently get in our inbox): the West Coast Convening has going on hiatus. WCC has never been formally funded and the facilitation is heavy lift. We'd rather pause and be honest about that than try to hold things together in a way that shortchanges the work or the community.
We're not walking away from this. If the right funding comes together, we want to bring it back. In the meantime, we're holding space for that possibility and staying open to what the next chapter could look like.
If you have questions, ideas about funding, or interest in talking through what a future West Coast Convening could look like, we'd genuinely love to hear from you. Send us a note at wcc @yp2f.org. This community has always been built on people showing up for each other, and that doesn't stop now.
Thank you for being part of this work.