A Letter of Accountability from PSY’s Executive Director

Over the last several weeks, our youth consultants and full-time team members have made me and the PSY Board aware of some key issues of concern within our organization. I am writing to issue a formal statement to our community and to answer the call to take accountability. This statement is part of our ongoing effort to communicate fully and transparently what has happened and the steps we are taking to work toward addressing issues within our organization.

We pride ourselves on the speed at which we move at PSY because we believe the youth homelessness crisis demands acting with urgency. As a result of moving so quickly, we’ve made some mistakes and these have impacted the people central to our work — young people, specifically PSY’s youth consultants.

In early May 2024, we failed to pay some of our youth consultants on time, resulting in payments to them being delayed six critical days.  Because many of the incredible team of youth consultants with whom we work are navigating precarious housing circumstances on their way to stable housing, or are experiencing homelessness/housing instability, the impact of delayed payment, even by a few days, is unacceptable.

This was compounded by communication silos and significant gaps in follow-up, support and accountability.  This should not have happened. We have provided additional payments to those affected to minimize any ancillary burden on youth consultants and are working on additional corrective measures as an organization.

This incident has prompted us all to reflect on other issues associated with our internal operations. One of our initiatives is a program to increase the capacity of youth leaders to participate in and ultimately lead local and national policy advocacy campaigns. We encountered some challenges in starting this program, specifically delays in launching and implementation, in addition to proper communication with participants. As an organization, we are working to address these critical challenges.

The work in improving our infrastructure and processes requires our full attention. As a result, I, in consultation with the PSY Board, have made the difficult decision to cancel the National Symposium on Solutions to End Youth Homelessness scheduled for June 24-26 in Baltimore, MD. I, like many of you, look forward to this annual convening and so it is with a heavy heart that this necessary decision was made.

We are grateful to play a role in this movement and will continue to work hand in hand with this incredible community to end youth homelessness and apologize to all those impacted.

Larry Cohen

Co-founder and Executive Director
Point Source Youth