We Have 15 BAY-CASH Participants!

This morning, I sent notices to 15 young adults that they will be the first participants in BAY-CASH!

Last night, Shayla and I spent three and a half hours speaking with a group of amazing young people. We felt honored and humbled by what they shared, unsolicited; and we felt immense gratitude for the ability to give them such good news, such hope. The wry and disbelieving smiles on their faces, emerging as we walked through the program details, will be etched in my memory for the rest of my life. Those smiles are 100% for you, too!

I also delivered the devastating news to one young person that they would not be participating. We have 15 spaces and 16 young people signed up to speak with us. This young person was eligible. They would have thrived in our program. But their number didn’t come up. I have been in the field for a long time, and you might think I am used to this. But the fire you see in my emails and when I present, it comes from this. The reason I am so excited for this model, so proud of this moment, and so dedicated to making sure we are successful, it is for this young person, just as much as it is for the 15 smiles.

I will let Shayla tell you all about Launch and how we plan to move forward in a follow-up email. But in the meantime, I want to say thank you. Thank you to our earliest supporters during the Boston youth homelessness planning process in 2018 and those crazy whiteboard sessions at the Alley a year later; to our founding Core Partners and our Readiness Phase Team and participants; to our Lived Experience Crew of incredible experts and the funders who believed in us when we were just an idea; and to everyone along the way who has stepped up, shared their time and wisdom, given us their space and resources, made calls, written emails, submitted Amendments, and committed to change the landscape of youth homelessness in Massachusetts.

This is only the beginning. The real work starts now. Thank you!

Sincerely,

Matt and the BAY-CASH Project Team