Young People to the Front

• Youth Homelessness and Kink Community: An Unexpected Path to Belonging with Cutter Ray Palacios

  Episode NotesThis week on Young People at the Front, Tonny, Robin, and Fatine open with banter about meeting your younger self. Then, Tonny sits down with Cutter Palacios, an actor, intimacy coordinator, and mental health educator whose story rewrites what survival, resilience, and belonging can look like. Cutter moved to Los Angeles at 19 with $500, a dream, and nowhere to go. For two and a half years, they lived out of a compact SUV — sleeping beside a fire station in Burbank, brushing their teeth at Starbucks, and chasing auditions between shifts at Canter’s Deli. What started as survival became a study in self-sufficiency and courage — and ultimately, a search for community that would lead to an unexpected place: the kink and sex-positive world of Threshold.In this candid conversation, Cutter shares how that world became a lifeline — not just a place of sexual exploration, but one of trust, structure, empathy, and belonging. It’s where they met their first roommate, found affordable housing, and eventually helped lead and found new organizations like The Next Generation Los Angeles (TNG-LA), a free, sliding-scale community space for 18–35-year-olds exploring consent, identity, and connection.Tonny opens up too, reflecting on his own experience navigating youth homelessness and the quiet shame that can come with survival. Together, they dismantle stereotypes, redefine what “home” really means, and explore how unconventional spaces from dungeons to diners  can become sanctuaries for healing.It’s a vulnerable, funny, and radically compassionate episode about finding your people, claiming your story, and remembering that community real community is always a little inconvenient.Topics Discussed in This Episode“If you could meet yourself at any age…” — a banter that turns surprisingly therapeuticCutter’s move from Texas to Los Angeles at 19Living out of a Chevy Blazer, brushing teeth at Starbucks, and chasing auditionsThe invisible face of youth homelessness in LATonny shares his own experience surviving in his car while attending culinary schoolThe turning point: discovering the Threshold communityHow sex-positive and kink spaces became a lifeline for belonging and supportFounding The Next Generation Los Angeles (TNG-LA)Community as inconvenience — why showing up mattersBreaking stigma around “van life” and redefining homelessnessHow kink culture models consent, care, and mutual trustMental health, identity, and finding balance in the entertainment industryThe four pillars of human need: belonging, independence, generosity, and competencyFrom isolation to partnership — Cutter’s reflections on love, safety, and purposeWhat “home” really means when you build it yourselfConnect with Cutter PalaciosInstagram: @QrePalaciosOrganization: @TNGLosAngeles — The Next Generation LAMental Health Resources: Association of Mental Health Coordinators

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• Axel Pecero on Fatherhood, Advocacy, and Building Community

  Axel Pecero, Is a young advocate and father hailing from San Pedro, CA, serves as a dedicated advocate for foster youth. Currently an advocate by California Youth Connection (CYC). Axel is deeply committed to empowering and uplifting his community. He is pursuing his education at Los Angeles Trade Technical College, striving to expand his knowledge and skills. With a passion for entrepreneurship, Axel aspires to establish his own businesses in the future, aiming to create opportunities for himself and others.Currently: Axel has been held at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in San Bernardino County since his August arrest.The 25-year-old former foster youth and father, who was brought to the United States from Mexico as a small child, is being held at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center in San Bernardino County and faces possible deportation. This episode was recorded a couple days before Axel got detainedEpisode Notes:Favorite Place in San Pedro: Axel shares his love for Palms (White Point Royal Palms), describing it as a beautiful ocean-facing spot where he spent significant time as a teenager. He contrasts San Pedro's sheltered culture with Los Angeles.Childhood Memories and Early Experiences: Axel recalls working for his uncle's business, Smoothies by the Yard, selling candy apples for $9 each. They bond over karaoke favorites and discuss local San Pedro rappers including Ramble, T Mac, Cash, and Miguel.Transition to Homelessness: Axel shares his journey from kinship care at 16 to homelessness after losing his job and savings. He describes living in various encampments including tents, RVs, and under bridges, emphasizing how community members supported each other.Finding Stability Through Education: Axel explains how enrolling in school and securing housing through LA Room and Housing helped him achieve stability and begin rebuilding his life.Advocacy Work Begins: Axel describes being hired as a Juvenile Justice Task Force liaison for California Youth Connection (CYC), marking the start of his advocacy career for foster youth rights and policy reform.Mental Health and Self-Care: Tonny and Axel discuss mental health management which involves painting, and rapping. Axel reveals his overprotective parenting style shaped by his own experiences and the importance of balancing advocacy with personal wellbeing.

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• Direct Cash Transfer Programs for Youth Experiencing Homelessness Ft. Sofie, Dwight, & Parker

  On this weeks episode guest host Robin sits down for a conversation with Sofie, parker, and dwight to talk about the direct cash transfer pilot program in Oregon. For Context Oregon ranks third nationally in youth homelessness (1,315 youth) despite small population Nationwide youth homelessness increased 10% in 2024Program StructureOregon provided $1,000/month for 24 months plus a one-time $3,000 enrichment fund to 120 young people (ages 18-24) experiencing homelessnessOptional supportive services ("plus" component) included case management, job counseling, and financial planningKey OutcomesHousing: 91% stably housed by program exit; homelessness dropped from 30% to 9%Income: Average monthly income increased 235% (from $614 to $2,059)Employment: Full-time employment rose from 16% to 24%Parents: 25 participants living with their children by program end (up from 19)Participant Profile60% female, 32% queer, 43% Native American or Native Multiracial61% had been homeless for 1-4 years42% had high school diplomas, 40% did not complete high schoolChallenges$1,000/month insufficient to cover rent alone (Portland median: $1,380 for 1-bedroom)54% felt uncertain about maintaining housing after program endsLow participation in optional group servicesTransportation and childcare cited as major employment barriersEvery $1 invested in supportive housing saves $3.30 in shelter, healthcare, and criminal justice costs

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• Dr. Eric Rice on Music, Building Community, and Youth Homelessness Research

  The team kicks off with classic YP2F banter—Tonny, Robin, and Fatine swap summer stories, argue about when “summer actually ends,” and debate the best concerts of their lives. From Beyoncé at SoFi to Oasis at Wembley and a Big Sur camping trip gone slightly wrong (watch out for wasps), the crew ends up reflecting on what makes live experiences so transformative: connection, community, and the memories that outlast the season.Then, Tonny sits down for a deeply personal, expansive conversation with Dr. Eric Rice, a leading researcher in youth homelessness and social networks, formerly of USC and now at UNC Chapel Hill.Eric traces his journey from DJ and record collector to social-work scholar—sharing how music, belonging, and compassion shaped his career. The conversation unpacks how youth experiencing homelessness build resilience, navigate relationships, and find community—even in the most unstable conditions.Tonny also opens up about his own story—how survival, stigma, and self-compassion intersect—and the two reflect on the ways belonging can literally change a life. The episode moves from vinyl records to HIV prevention, from MySpace to AI, and always circles back to the human need to connect.It’s an hour that feels like both a case study and a heart-to-heart—rooted in sound, story, and solidarity.Topics Discussed in This EpisodeWhen does summer actually end?The best concerts of everyone’s lives (Oasis, Beyoncé, Wembley vs. SoFi)Tonny’s obsession with drum corps and the Gay Men’s ChorusRobin’s London concert adventure and the magic of public transitDr. Eric Rice on his journey from funk DJ to youth homelessness researcherHow volunteering at My Friend’s Place changed everythingMusic, community, and belonging as forms of healingThe reality of youth homelessness—beyond stereotypesSurvival, resilience, and self-compassion in hard timesEarly HIV prevention work and the evolution of PrePThe rise of social media (from MySpace to TikTok) and connection onlineBelonging as the cornerstone of solving homelessnessTonny and Eric’s shared reflections on recovery, purpose, and finding your peopleConnect with Dr. Eric RiceCurrent: Professor, Associate Dean for Research and Director, USC Center for AI in SocietyResearch: Youth Homelessness, Social Networks, Public HealthFeatured in: YP2F Zine (Belonging issue)

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• Navigating Youth Homelessness: Advocacy, Dignity, and Rebuilding Systems Ft. Amanda Nicholson

  Episode NotesHost Tonny St. James sits down with artist, organizer, and consultant Amanda Nicholson to unpack the realities of navigating homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic—and the urgent need to rebuild systems with dignity at the center.Amanda shares her journey from couch surfing in high school to surviving homelessness in San Diego and Los Angeles, and how those lived experiences fueled her transition into grassroots advocacy, workshops, and consulting. Together, they explore the failures of housing programs that label people “service resistant,” the challenges of navigating dehumanizing social systems, and the radical possibility of harm reduction, rest, and direct cash support as tools for true transformation.This conversation is as much about survival as it is about vision: what it means to claim humanity in spaces that erase it, and how art, organizing, and unapologetic truth-telling can spark systemic change.Topics Discussed in this EpisodeNavigating homelessness in San Diego vs. Los Angeles during COVIDHow Project Roomkey closures exposed systemic crueltyWhy “service resistant” is a damaging and false narrativeThe role of art, consulting, and research in shaping advocacyHarm reduction principles beyond substance use: dignity, rest, and autonomyTokenization vs. authentic inclusion of lived experience voicesRebuilding social safety nets from scratch instead of reforming broken systemsThe promise of direct cash transfers and affordable housingConnect with Amanda Nicholson:Clear Path NYC: clearpathnyc.org

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