Let’s work together

Young People to the Front (YP2F) is a collection of social workers, advocates, front line workers, and people with lived experience of youth homelessness that strive to make research accessible and a tool for radical change. We a’re on a mission to make their research and data more accessible and have a greater impact through the use of new media.

  • Program evaluation

  • Research plan development and implementation

  • Needs assessments

  • Data management

Research and Evaluation Services

  • Qualitative interviewing

  • Survey development

  • Monitoring and dashboard development

  • Community based research technical assistance

and more…..

Event Planning and New Media:

  • Conferences, convening, workshops and meeting planning

  • Narrative and media strategy assistance

  • Outreach and stakeholder engagement

Youth and Professional Development Services:

  • Mentorship and youth development

  • Youth professional development

FAQs

  • Dr. Robin Petering founded YP2F the continuation of Dr. Petering’s work as a social scientist specializing in understanding homelessness experienced in Los Angeles and throughout the nation. Dr. Petering is regarded as one of the leading experts in the field of research on young adults experiencing homelessness informed by her personal experience as a front-line worker and volunteer in agencies that serve this population.

    Joined by Laura, Fatine, Tonny, and their expert consultants including a review board of young people currently experiencing homelessness and housing instability, they’re on a mission to make their research evaluation accessible to all. Find more about the team here.

    YP2F’s research approach is community-based with specialty expertise in designing, implementing and analyzing data from research and evaluation projects. Our evaluations help organizations understand their programs and effectiveness by focusing on the change that happens as a result of that program. We do this by looking at our findings from surveys that are engaging and accessible, qualitative interviews, engaging those with lived experience, collaborating with experts in the field and working in partnership with agencies to give a well-rounded picture to make decisions about whether to continue, change, or pivot their work.

  • YP2F (Lens Co) has overseen several evaluation contracts with agencies across the country that serve youth experiencing homelessness, including Los Angeles Homelessness Services Authority, Los Angeles Department of Health Services, Los Angeles Department of Mental Health, Brilliant Corners, Safe Place for Youth, Point Source Youth, Jovenes, Inc, amongst others. Our approach to research and evaluation is to prioritize inclusiveness and equity for all individuals and agencies involved in any given project. Lens Co was founded on extensive experience engaged with the Los Angeles community of service agencies and individuals experiencing homelessness.

    Our current research efforts currently is coordinating the Greater Los Angeles Homeless Youth Count, collaborating with the University of Southern California and Los Angeles Homelessness Services Authority. Lens Co leads the evaluation for the Direct Cash Transfer Plus program in Oregon, aiming to understand its impact on areas like housing stability, education, and employment among others. Additionally, YP2F is aiding an evaluation project to identify key components of an employment social enterprise supportive programming model for young adults. It leads the data collection, encompassing both qualitative and quantitative data from various program partners.

  • Absolutely! Although we focus on many issues and initiatives close to home, we’ve worked with a handful of organizations on projects surrounding and supporting our values. Our ultimate focus is around the evaluation of innovative projects that have to do with the wellbeing of young people across the United States.

  • Short answer, it ranges. All our proposals for the research and work we do is customized to the individual and their needs. We have an extensive amount of field and lived experience which are supplemented with different research methodologies to get the desired result(s). Estimated costs include compensating senior staff, varying hours for different components and project costs, and more.

    All project budgets reflect our organizational values. We believe in a flat and transparent pay structure (read more about it here). Beyond project costs (i.e. survey incentives, survey platforms), the primary cost reflects our staff’s efforts. Therefore project cost directly relates to the amount of labor is put toward each project.

We’ve compiled some tiered examples of engagement and project range below.

Please note that they are not set in stone. Each project is different, so the cost is associated with not only what and who is needed, but your budget, which we’re happy to work around. We’re committed to working with people where they’re at.

  • This is our lowest tier option because it includes the lowest commitment. We would support you with an existing project that you have in mind. We’d support you by jumping on a zoom and providing insight, expertise, and support to help you answer questions you might have for different areas of your project to make it the most effective.

    A one-time consultation project involves bringing YP2F on board for guidance on research data and organization within a specific program. This service provides custom recommendations for those interested in data. It leverages YP2F's expertise and extensive experience in surveying young individuals to provide valuable insights and strategies.

    The average length is between 2 to 6 months.The primary costs are YP2F staff effort.

  • Our medium touch, and favorite of our offerings supports organizations who have the capacity to do their own data collection and project execution but want support with creating a collaborative research plan, building out a survey, building out an approach, etc.

    Our Tier 2 service is an ongoing project-based offering. In this service, we provide support to organizations that take the lead on their own data collection, using their own platforms and processes. Our role is to collaborate in the project development, helping to create the research approach and plan. Once the plan is in place, the organization carries out the project independently. However, we remain available to assist in report writing and review of findings. Over time, we've created hundreds of surveys and amassed a large database of measures and instruments. We leverage these resources to help highlight the success of your program.

    The average duration for a project is between 6 months and 1 year. The primary costs are related to the effort of the YP2F staff, expenditure on temporary staff for data collection, incentives for participants, and resources for reporting out.

  • Our “Let’s Go!” tier is the highest level of engagement and collaboration. This includes everything in the previous tiers plus we data collection, data management, analysis, recommendations and reporting out.

    This project typically last 1-3 years and involve costs such as full-time salaried staff, temporary data collection staff, overhead, participant incentives, reporting resources, and potential costs for university consultation, data analysis, graphic design, and travel.

I’m interested, but not sure what tier is best for me.

To simplify it, we like to think of them in regards to how involved we are in your process. Regardless of the tier, all projects have an expectation of collaboration.

Did you know we offer a customized tier?

You can find out more by visiting our services page or by filling out the form below with more information about your project guidelines and overall budget. You’ll hear from us within a few days to schedule a follow up call to discuss!

Let’s connect

Reach out about a project, collaboration or just to say hello!