Building Pathways to Stability
Health is shaped by much more than access to healthcare. Safe housing, reliable food, education, employment, and supportive relationships all influence a young person’s ability to be healthy and thrive. For young people experiencing homelessness, these social determinants of health are deeply interconnected.
At Larkin Street Youth Services, we address these challenges through a comprehensive continuum of housing, behavioral health, education and employment, outreach, and prevention services. Support from the Delta Dental Community Care Foundation strengthens this work, helping us reach more young people as they overcome barriers to care and build greater stability, independence, and opportunity.
As Delta Dental Community Care Foundation shared in our 2025 Annual Impact Report:
“Every young person deserves the opportunity to live, thrive, and build a stable future in the community we call home. Equitable access to oral health care requires addressing the systemic barriers and social drivers that prevent vulnerable populations from accessing the care they need.”
This support helps us:
- Connect young people to safe, stable housing and individualized support that helps them move toward long-term independence.
- Expand outreach and prevention, reaching young people in schools and community settings and connecting them to resources before challenges escalate.
- Provide behavioral health services and connections to healthcare that reduce barriers to care and support overall well-being.
- Create pathways to education, employment, and economic stability through Larkin Street Academy and workforce programming.
- Strengthen coordinated services that address the interconnected challenges young people face, from housing and financial insecurity to healthcare access and social support.
Gratitude for Continued Partnership
We are grateful to the Delta Dental Community Care Foundation, our partner since 2018, for their shared commitment to addressing the social determinants of health, including supplying youth at Larkin Street with hundreds of dental health care kits for shelters and housing programs. Their support helps ensure young people have access not only to immediate care, but also to the housing, opportunity, and support they need to build healthy, stable futures.
