The Statewide Young Adult Action Board (YAAB) exists to bring youth voices together across Tennessee and make sure lived experience is shaping decisions at every level. A lot of communities are doing amazing work—we help bring it together so youth don’t get different experiences just because of where they live. Our purpose is to establish legitimacy for youth leadership, create a shared statewide mission, and coordinate youth voice so it doesn’t live in silos—but moves systems forward together.
To elevate and empower young people with lived experience of homelessness to influence policies, programs, and systems across Tennessee.
A Tennessee where youth are seen as experts of their own experiences, trusted as leaders, and meaningfully involved in decisions that impact their lives—and where youth homelessness is rare, brief, and non-recurring.
Youth are not just asked for feedback—they have real influence and ownership.
Youth inform system improvement by identifying gaps that don’t always show up in data and sharing what works in real life. Youth engagement is meaningful—not a checkbox.
Youth help inform planning and implementation, elevate priorities, and ensure programs are built with youth, not just for youth.
The Statewide YAAB works alongside CoCs to support local YAABs, strengthen youth voice, and align efforts statewide while honoring local needs.
