Homelessness is a major social concern in the United States, and youth may be the age group most at risk of becoming homeless.1 The number of youth who have experienced homelessness varies depending on the age range, timeframe, and definition used, but sources estimate that between 500,000 and 2.8 million youth are homeless within the United States each year.2
Youth run away or are homeless for a range of reasons, but involvement in the juvenile justice or child welfare systems, abuse, neglect, abandonment, and severe family conflict have all been found to be associated with youth becoming homeless. These youth are vulnerable to a range of negative experiences including exploitation and victimization. Runaway and homeless youth have high rates of involvement in the juvenile justice system, are more likely to engage in substance use and delinquent behavior, be teenage parents, drop out of school, suffer from sexually transmitted diseases, and meet the criteria for mental illness.3 Experiences of unaccompanied homeless youth are different from those who experience homelessness with their families. While negative experiences persist for youth who are homeless with their families, their experiences may not vary drastically from youth living in poverty.4 Studies have also found distinct variability in outcomes experienced by homeless youth, suggesting that youth experience homelessness differently.5
Providing timely and direct interventions to homeless and runaway youth is important to protect them from the risks of living on the streets and to support positive youth development6, yet despite the risks and needs of these youth, few appear to know of, and access, support services.7 Even more critical is addressing the family/parental needs to prevent youth and/or their families from becoming homeless and addressing their behavioral health needs through comprehensive methods that involve both youth and their families.
1 Toro, Dworsky, & Fowler, 2007
2 Cooper, 2006
3 Walsh & Donaldson, 2010; Toro, Dworsky, & Fowler, 2007
4 Samuels, Shinn, & Buckner, 2010
5 Huntington, Buckner, & Bassuk, 2008
6 Walsh & Donaldson, 2010
7 Pergamit & Ernst, 2010
Opening Doors – Ending Youth Homelessness by 2020 Opening Doors: The Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness, is the nation’s first comprehensive strategy aimed at preventing and ending homelessness, and serves as a roadmap for federal departments as well as local and state partners in the public and private sector to address this critical issue. |
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Girls Mentoring and Education Service Andrea, a runaway youth and victim of sexual exploitation, battled isolation and feelings of worthlessness, faced physical and mental abuse, and bounced in and out of jail, unable to lessen the hold that her exploiter had on her. She eventually escaped the exploitation with the help of GEMS, or Girls ... |
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Minnesota's Support Systems for Rural Homeless Youth Program Among homeless youth in Minnesota, Native Americans are one of three high risk populations (the others being African Americans and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and/or Questioning youth). |
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Planning for the 2011 Continuums of Care Point-in-Time Count on Homelessness Continuums of Care (CoCs) across the country undertake community-wide efforts to collect information on the number and characteristics of individuals and families experiencing homelessness. |
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The Voices of Young People Highlight the SSRHY Annual Meeting Ten youth, from the six states participating in the Support Systems for Rural Homeless Youth 5-year demonstration, taught valuable lessons at the Demonstration's Annual Meeting in Chicago last August. |
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A Hand and Paw Partnership Benefits Homeless Youth Dogs, and people, learn new tricks at the Virginia Woof Dog Daycare Center in Portland, OR. Owned and operated by Outside In, a social service agency that serves homeless youth and low-income adults, the doggie daycare provides job training for 25 formerly homeless young people every year. |
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U.S. Government sets goal to end youth homelessness in 10 years The U.S. Department of Education reported that 53,000 homeless youth were supported through school-based programs last year, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development counted more than 22,000 young people in emergency or transitional housing in 2009. |
Youth Speak Out: Finding Well-Being After the Streets
Maggie, Garney, and Zach all used to be homeless, but they've now found unique ways to stay healthy and happy. In this roundtable discussion, they define and explain well-being, one of the Family and Youth Services Bureau's four outcomes for runaway and homeless youth. View other podcasts here.
Map My Community is a tool designed specifically to assist you in locating resources in your community to help you build and strengthen your youth program. Get ideas for new partnerships, identify gaps in your community, and learn about resources to avoid duplication of effort.
FindYouthInfo.gov is the U.S. government Web site that helps you create, maintain, and strengthen effective youth programs. Included are youth facts, funding information, and tools to help you assess community assets, generate maps of local and federal resources, search for evidence-based youth programs, and keep up-to-date on the latest, youth-related news.