By 17, Pip was cycling in and out of Kitsap County’s juvenile court. He avoided going home to a “volatile” living situation. He struggled at work.

Then a court-appointed therapist referred him to a program called H-SYNC, Housing Stability for Youth in Courts. H-SYNC has been life-changing, Pip said.

Nearly a quarter of young people who exit the Washington state justice system are homeless a year later. Young people leaving foster care or inpatient behavioral health become homeless at high rates as well. Five years ago, Washington enacted a law aimed at preventing this phenomenon.

In the second of a three-part series, journalists Sam Leeds and Elizabeth Whitman explain how H-SYNC was designed to identify and help youth at risk of homelessness — and how it could serve as a model for other states.

Learn more: Researchers team up with court staff to help Washington homeless youth

This episode was created by Youth Today and Crosscut. The story editor was Jacob Jones.