Youth
A 2005 Study of 18- to 21- year-old youth experiencing homelessness found that two-thirds had not obtained a high school diploma or a GED certificate at the point of program intake.
The actual number of unaccompanied youth experiencing homelessness is difficult to pinpoint. Due to barriers that exist for young people in accessing adult-only shelters and their lack of connection to most social services, many if not most youth experiencing homelessness go uncounted. The most recent Annual Point in Time Count conducted in January 2011 was the most comprehensive count to date. In June 2012, the Council unveiled a new framework for approaching the problem of youth homelessness in a more coordinated and effective way across different disciplines working with this population. This youth framework was included in the Amendment to Opening Doors, released in September 2012.
Youth often leave home as a result of a severe family conflict which might include physical and/or sexual abuse. One quarter of former foster youth experience homelessness within four years of exiting foster care. Too often, youth are separated from other family members when shelter policies force older adolescent males to be housed in adult shelters.
Research shows a high prevalence of depression, suicide initiations, and other mental health disorders among youth who are homeless. Chronic physical health conditions are common as are high rates of substance abuse disorders. Many youth who become homeless have histories of academic difficulties including suspension and expulsion. Homeless youth engage in risky behaviors and have high rates of prior arrests and convictions.
More needs to be known about the costs associated with youth homelessness but we know that high rates of medical and behavioral health care and incarceration are costly. These costs compound over a lifetime as today’s homeless youth become tomorrow’s homeless adults.
Programs that can best help youth experiencing homelessness transition to stability include:
- Individualized goal based planning
- On-going support services connected to mainstream resources
- Independent life skills training
- Connections to support networks
- Employment and education services
- Housing
Family reunification programs, mental health care, specialized youth shelters that are careful to meet the needs of LGBT youth, better discharge planning for foster care and juvenile justice, and risk reduction skills are all promising solutions to help youth get back on their feet. Better collaboration and strategic planning on the systems level should be focused at implementing best practices for this population. Just because unaccompanied youth are undercounted, doesn’t mean they should be overlooked.
One of the four goals of Opening Doors is to prevent and end homelessness among youth by 2020. Working together to implement proven solutions, we can accomplish this goal.
Below you will find programs, information, and resources focused specifically on improving outcomes for youth experiencing or at-risk of homelessness.
Blog
Keeping the Momentum for Ending Youth Homelessness: Reflections from Indianapolis and Beyond
Words never hurt? Toward a More Productive Public Discourse on Homeless Children and Youth
What We're Talking About: The Week at USICH - October 29-November 2
What We're Talking About: The Week at USICH - September 24-27
Youth Homelessness Champions of Change
Listening to the NAEHCY/LeTendre Scholars: The Needs of Youth Experiencing Homelessness
Ending Youth Homelessness
June Council Meeting Focuses on New Framework to End Youth Homelessness
Fact Sheets
Opening Doors: Homelessness Among Youth
While the exact number of youth experiencing homelessness is difficult to determine given varying definitions of homelessness and the ...
Helpful Websites
Find Youth Info
http://www.findyouthinfo.gov/index.shtml Find Youth Info is the homepage for the Obama Administration's Interagency Working ...
National Center for Homeless Education
http://center.serve.org/nche/ibt/ibt.php The SERVE Center contains resources for state and local governments and service providers ...
Runaway and Homeless Youth Training and Technical Assistance Center
http://www.rhyttac.ou.edu/ The Runaway and Homeless Youth Training and Technical Assistance Center (RHYTTAC) serves a centralized ...
National Runaway Youth Switchboard
http://www.nrscrisisline.org/ Link to Switchboard homepage with resources, hotline, and where to find ...
Programs
Basic Center Program
The Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA) serves runaway and homeless youth by funding the following grant programs: the Basic Center ...
Chafee Foster Care Independence Programs
Administered by the Children’s Bureau in the Administration for Children and Families, the Chafee Foster Care Independence ...
Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program
When families become homeless, the experience is traumatizing, especially for children. Research compiled by the National Center on ...
Job Corps
The Job Corps Program is designed as a holistic career development program for low-income young adults ages 16-24 to complete an ...
National Runaway Switchboard
The Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA) serves runaway and homeless youth by funding the following grant programs: the Basic Center ...
Maternity Group Home Program
The Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA) serves runaway and homeless youth by funding the following grant programs: the Basic Center ...
Street Outreach Program
The Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA) serves runaway and homeless youth by funding the following grant programs: the Basic Center ...
Transitional Living Program (TLP)
The Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA) serves runaway and homeless youth by funding the following grant programs: the Basic Center ...
YouthBuild
The YouthBuild program provides funds to non-profit organizations to provide an alternative education pathway and teach occupational ...
Related Research
Sexual Abuse Among Homeless Adolescents: Prevalence, Correlates, and Sequelae
Jody M. Greene November 2002 Over the past two decades, there has been increasing recognition that runaway and homeless youth ...
An Empirical Portrait of the Youth Reentry Population
Howard N. Snyder 2004 Nearly 100,000 juvenile offenders are released annually from custody facilities following adjudication or ...
A Family Intervention to Reduce Sexual Risk Behavior, Substance Use, and Delinquency Among Newly Homeless Youth
Norweeta G. Milburn, Ph.D., et al. April 2012 We evaluate the efficacy of a short family intervention in reducing sexual risk ...
Effective Interventions for Homeless Youth
Astrid M. Altena, Sonja N. Brilleslijper-Kater and Judith R.L.M. Wolf June 2010 To date, there has not been clear evidence ...
Effective Teaching and At Risk/Highly Mobile Students: What Do Award Winning Teachers Do?
Leslie Grant, James H. Stronge, and Patricia Popp May 2008 This study was designed jointly between the National Center for ...
A Look at Child Welfare From a Homeless Education Perspective
Jan Moore Fall 2007 More and more frequently, local homeless education liaisons are asked to determine whether students involved ...
The Unique Impact of Out-of-Home Placement and the Mediating Effects of Child Maltreatment and Homelessness on Early School Success
John Fantuzzo and Staci Perlman July 2007 Increased national attention has underscored the importance of promoting educational ...
Collaborations of Schools and Social Service Agencies
Jan Moore December 2005 In the past two decades, there has been a dramatic rise in the number of homeless students enrolled in US ...
An Empirical Portrait of the Youth Reentry Population
Howard N. Snyder January 2004 Nearly 100,000 juvenile offenders are released annually from custody facilities following ...
Sexual Abuse Among Homeless Adolescents: Prevalence, Correlates, and Sequelae
Jody M. Greene, Rebecca Sanchez, Jennifer Manlove, Elizabeth Terry-Humen, Sharon Vandivere, Richard Wertheimer, Stephanie Williams, ...
Sexual Abuse Among Homeless Adolescents: Prevalence, Correlates, and Sequelae
Jody M. Greene 2002 Over the past two decades, there has been increasing recognition that runaway and homeless youth constitute a ...
High Burden of Homelessness Among Sexual-Minority Adolescents: Findings From a Representative Massachusetts High School Sample
Heather Corliss, Carol Goodenow, Lauren Nichols, and S. Bryn Austin July 2011 In this study, researchers compared the prevalence ...
Characteristics of Help-Seeking Street Youth and Non-Street Youth
Alma C. Molino May 6, 2010 Alma Molino, a graduate student in Clinical Psychology at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and ...
Homeless Near a Thousand Homes: Outcomes of Homeless Youth in a Shelter
Carol Cornsweet Barber, Peter Fonagy, Jim Fultz, Mary Ann Simulinas and Miranda Yates March 24, 2010 Clients who received crisis ...
Predictors of Homelessness Among Street Living Youth
Natasha Slesnick, Suzanne Bartle-Haring, Pushpanjali Dashora, Min Ju Kang and Erin Aukward April 2008 While few studies have ...
A Longitudinal Study of Early Adolescent Precursors to Running Away
Kimberly A. Tyler and Bianca E. Bersani February 2008 Although previous research has examined correlates of running away among ...
Promising Strategies to End Youth Homelessness
Family and Youth Services Bureau of the Administration for Children and Families 2007 When the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act was ...
Unaccompanied and Homeless Youth Review of Literature (1995-2005)
Jan Moore July 2005 This project is based on a review of 1995 to 2005 literature on issues concerning unaccompanied youth ...
Incidence and Prevalence of Homeless and Runaway Youth
Jody M. Greene, Rebecca Sanchez, Jennie Harris, Connie Cignetti, Don Akin, and Sara Wheeless May 2003 Homeless, runaway, and ...
Incidence and Prevalence of Homeless and Runaway Youth
Jody M. Greene 2003 Homeless, runaway, and throwaway youth (HRTY) constitute a high-risk population that urgently requires the ...
NISMART Bulletin: Runaway/Thrownaway Children: National Estimates and Characteristics
Heather Hammer 2002 The words “missing child” call to mind tragic and frightening kidnappings reported in the national ...
NISMART Bulletin: Runaway/Thrownaway Children: National Estimates and Characteristics
Heather Hammer, David Finkelhor, and Andrea J. Sedlak August 2000 The words “missing child” call to mind tragic and ...
Upcoming Events and Deadlines
National Runaway and Homeless Youth FYSB Grantee Conference
National Alliance to End Homelessness Webinar on including Youth in Point-In-Time (P.I.T.) Count
USICH Webpages
Youth Count!
Developing Strategies for Counting Unaccompanied Homeless Youth The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) and the ...
USICH Framework to End Youth Homelessness
The 2012 Amendment to Opening Doors was developed to specifically address what strategies should be implemented to improve the ...
Three Experts React, Discuss Youth Framework in Briefs
As part of the June 2012 Council meeting on youth homelessness, USICH sought input from leaders in the field: CEO of Lighthouse Youth ...
Videos and Webinars
June 2012 Council Meeting on Youth Homelessness
On June 12, 2012 the USICH Council meeting focusing on youth homelessness at the Department of Housing and Urban Development was ...
Harm Reduction for Youth
Harm reduction is a model that has been very successful helping youth experiencing homelessness gain stability and direction. Using ...
Runaway and Homeless Youth Program Grantees Webinar: Opening Doors and What it Means for Youth
USICH Deputy Director Jennifer Ho moderates a question and answer session with USICH Executive Director Barbara Poppe, Lighthouse ...
