Homeless Youth

Incidents like abuse from family members, bullying, neglect, and sexual abuse are the most common. Repeated abuse can lead to psychological damage and emotional scarring. Not only are traumatic psychological experiences causing these juveniles to commit violent crimes. Situations, where children have poor education, a household without discipline, peer pressure, inadequate role models, low income, and substance abuse coupled with the wrong environment, can lead to a life of crime. These negative influences guide these juveniles on the wrong path towards crime. However, it does not mean these juveniles cannot succeed; it is however up to the juvenile to make the correct choices in their

Homeless youth face an abundance of challenges, especially if they are on their own, such as finding food, shelter, income, and potential medical expenses. Some youth experience additional hardship by facing the effects of abuse they endured at their previous place of residence. According to the National Conference of State Legislators (2013) 46 percent of runaway and homeless youth reported physical abuse, 38 percent reported emotional abuse, and 17 percent reported being forced into unwanted sexual activity by a family or household member. Therefore, the chances of emotional vulnerability are high.

There are millions of homeless youth in America. On any given night, you can find these children ducking into abandoned buildings, crammed up against alley dumpsters, curled inside the big yellow slide of a local playground. I imagine they are thankful for sleep, wary of a new day, but thankful nonetheless. Homelessness at such a young age if left alone, leads to increased rates of conflict. The more homeless youths now, the more our country as a whole will have to deal with divorce, mental illness, and the need for government assistance.

Homeless youth are a standout amongst the most underestimated gatherings in our general public. Numerous specialists recognize much more elevated amounts of different issue practices among these adolescent contrasted with their non-homeless associates. The current study analyzed the utility of social capital in foreseeing issue practices among homeless youth.

One of the stakeholders for this program is homeless youth, because they are obviously affected by their lack of basic needs. Another stakeholder is the families of homeless youth, the parents who most likely have been separated from their child because of not having the means to take care of them. Homeless youth shelters are another stakeholder and that can benefit from having children in their shelters and similar nonprofit programs can benefit too. The community and society is another stakeholder that benefits from not having homeless children on the streets. Law enforcement and hospitals are other stakeholders that are affected by the amounts of resources they use when dealing with homeless youth and homeless people in general.

“Since 1974 with the passage of the National Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, programs have been established, by the juvenile justice system and child welfare system, to supplement short-term crisis intervention to runaway youth” (Rose, ND).

Homelessness is all around the world, and many people have either dealt with the issue or had first-hand experience with it. Thus causes everyone to think about the possible solutions to such an important social and economic problem. Whether or not anyone wants to support or ignore the issue, it will always be there. However, the youth population is on the rise among the homeless. While the exact number of youth among the homeless is hard to determine, given various information about homelessness available and the age range that is considered youth, a 2012 survey from the Department of Education shows that 52,950 unaccompanied homeless youth were reported through school-based programs (Sparks 31). Homelessness among youth can be

Where parents and their children reside can have a huge impact on their lives in many different aspects. Children with parents that are incarcerated, are typically raised in poor and poverty stricken neighborhoods. “Of course there are middle-class and even some wealthy offenders, but when proportioned, over 90 percent of offenders are what we would define as poor” (Maier 93). “Poverty is the big background picture, the framework, the major context for crime, criminal behavior, and incarceration” (Maier 93). Although it may not be preventable, living in areas where crime occurs so regularly and drugs are at such easy access, it is hard for these parents to avoid it all and they end up falling short to the temptation of it all. So for those living in

One in seven adolescents between the ages of ten and eighteen will run away at some point (“Running Away”). People need to pay more attention to the reasons why teens run away when there is the risk of becoming homeless. According to the National Runaway Safeline (NRS) there are between 1.7 and 2.8 million runaway and homeless youth that live on the street each year. It is important for people to know this because it estimates the number of children and teens that runaway and possibly become homeless each year. Forty six percent of runaway and homeless youth reported being physically abused, thirty eight percent reported being emotionally abused , and seventeen percent reported being forced into unwanted sexual activity by a family or household member (Homeless and Runaway Youth). Physical, emotional and sexual abuse are common reasons why teens run away. Teens that are experiencing abuse, have issues with their parents, may develop a drug addiction and often become teenage runaways.

Incarceration of minors in adult prisons has been found to have low rehabilitative potential and as such results in increased engagement in criminal activities (Aizer & Doyle, 2015). Many juvenile offenders have been found to hail from particularly disadvantaged families. In addition, a significant number have a history of drug abuse. Actually, 40-70% of the young offenders have a history of substance abuse and dependence (Aizer & Doyle, 2015). Apart from drug abuse, some of these offenders may have a history of mistreatment and even psychiatric disorders.

Finzel, Rochelle. "Homeless and Runaway Youth." National Conference of State Legislature. NCSL, 14 Apr. 2016. Web.

Research indicates that two-third of the adults experiencing homelessness in the U.S.A have not received a high school diploma or completed a GED. In the 2013-2014 school year, public schools reported 1,360,747 unaccompanied homeless students enrollment. Unaccompanied youth are those who experiencing homelessness while not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian. Approximately 1.7 million youth experience homelessness on their own reported each year. They live in unsafe, dysfunction and unstable situations, including cars, parks, couch-suffering, shelters, and motels etc.... Most of these young individuals have left home due to unhealthy and unsafe family setting, including abuse and neglect: 20-40% of unaccompanied homeless youth were

Homeless youth are an unseen population. They may go unnoticed because they are forgotten about. They are not easy to identify because they do not have permanent housing. They may stay with friends and move from place to place or couch surf. Numerous homeless youth have left home for countless reasons. They may have nowhere to go, lack familial support, they may have suffered abuse at home, or they might be defiant with the rules at home and want to experience more independence an autonomy.

Walking through a major city or metropolitan area there are a countless number of people who are wearing old and ripped clothing, carrying bags or pushing grocery carts full of junk, looking like they have not bathed in weeks and most of them holding signs begging for change just so they can eat something that day. Over the past eight years the amount of homeless individuals has continuously decreased throughout the country. Homelessness in America is a serious problem, especially with higher rates in unemployment happening. Americans

Individuals abused as a child are more likely to turn to substance abuse and violence. Their environment socialized them with violence being the answer to all questions or stressed them out enough to run away as an adolescent, nurtured by gangs where they solve problems with violence (69). Some even confide in strangers where they’d be exposed to drugs and later abuses to cope with stress and mental deficiencies. Frequently they are targeted by perpetrators because their vulnerability makes them easy to manipulate and exploit, allowing them to be victimized again (73).