Connecting homeless youth to community resources

There is a growing population of young people living on the streets in Massachusetts. These vulnerable young adults face bleak futures without intervention. Homelessness puts them at risk of health problems, death, violence and exploitation. Wayside’s CommunityLinks is a program aimed at reaching out to homeless young people in Framingham and MetroWest.

CommunityLINKS strives to prevent homelessness and other harmful situations for adolescents and to enhance positive youth development through the provision of mobile outreach and community services.

We work to prevent homelessness and other destructive situations for adolescents and to enhance positive youth development for all young people at risk of harm by promoting safe, healthy alternatives through the provision of mobile, outreach, and resourceful community services.

Our Philosophy

Wayside CommunityLINKS grounds its services in the principles of positive youth development by engaging youth in healthy activities, building strong positive relationships with youth, partnering with young people in program development, educating the community about high-risk behaviors, and intervening in destructive situations to provide safe, productive alternatives to youth.

Street Outreach

Street Outreach staff patrol the Framingham area by van and on foot to locate homeless, runaway, and street youth in order to meet the urgent needs of young people at very high risk of harm.

CommunityLINKS provides temporary emergency shelter and other basic needs and links youth to health care, individual and group counseling, employment, education, case management, and family reunification services. CommunityLINKS educates the community on the risks to homeless and runaway teens and builds community-wide response to addressing the problems which lead to homelessness among youth.