New Avenues For Youth | Diversity Employer

About Us

New Avenues for Youth is a Portland-based nonprofit organization dedicated to the prevention and intervention of youth homelessness. Our services for young people (ages 9-24) focus on the individual—their experiences, identities, needs, and goals—and helping them make positive change in their lives.

Our Story

New Avenues’ founding in 1997 was a response to the growing numbers of youth experiencing homelessness in downtown Portland. While intervention on street homelessness remains central to our efforts, prevention—or reaching young people earlier to stop homelessness before it starts—is increasingly a strategic focus for us. In fact, more than half of our budget is devoted to it. And for good reason: gentrification, historical and institutional racism, rising housing costs, and the COVID-19 pandemic have displaced, marginalized, and isolated low-income and BIPOC communities in the region, with housing instability and homelessness on the rise.

From meals and counseling to job training and housing, our equity-based services address the many barriers to stability and well-being that young people face. Each and every day, we show up in compassionate, creative ways, ensuring that they always have a place to turn.

Do you want to make an impact on youth homelessness?

Join Our Team! 

We Believe In:

• Ensuring physical and emotional safety of youth
• Incorporating youth voice and choice into program design
• Engaging youth in planning, reflection, conflict resolution, and other life skills
• Setting high expectations that they can meet and exceed
• Helping them develop meaningful connections

Benefits and Perks 

 TIME FOR YOU

• Paid Vacation, Sick and Personal Time, Paid Holidays

 OUR HEALTH MATTERS

• Health, Vision, and Dental Insurance

 PLAN FOR YOUR FUTURE

• Flexible Spending Accounts, 403b Retirement Savings Plan, and an Employee Assistance Resource and Referral Program

New Avenues’ Commitment to Equity

New Avenues for Youth imagines a community where all young people experience health, wellbeing, and a self-determined home. We understand that racism, poverty, and experiences of oppression lead to social injustice and housing instability for youth. Due to current and historical exploitation and racism, youth of color are disproportionately impacted. In order to advance equity at New Avenues and fulfill our mission, we must address how privilege has shaped our organizational culture, policies and practices.

New Avenues believes equity is an ongoing commitment without closure; in taking risks, we will learn from our mistakes. We will listen to and learn from young people’s lived experiences. We will seek multiple perspectives, strive for transparency, remain humble, and resist the urge to simplify or silence hard truths. We make these commitments because we believe in social justice and the inherent human dignity of each individual.