Homeless Youth

Abstract: SMY (sexual minority youth, which refers within this paper to youth who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or queer) are at risk for trauma in particularly high numbers. When SMY become homeless, their risk for exposure to trauma becomes even higher, presenting the helping professions with a population that faces unique problems in clinical settings that may seek to treat homelessness without considering minority stress and repeated exposure to trauma. We reviewed literature concerned with trauma, homelessness and SMY issues to determine which EBPs (evidence-based practices) have been deemed most helpful for this population and found very few. Our investigation into local resources available to homeless SMY was similarly discouraging. Since previous trauma and marginalized sexual orientation are the primary factors for continued risk, we can suggest that Trauma Informed Care and Gay Affirmative Cognitive Behavioral Therapy are currently our best choices. This paper will seek to explore why.

Many LGBTQ youth have particular experiences of trauma, rejection and abuse related to their sexual orientation or gender identity, and programs sometimes fail to address these issues. Even when LGBTQ youth access programs, some experience discrimination and harassment by staff who are not trained to be culturally competent on LGBT issues. By forging links with the LGBTQ youth task force to bring further attention to the homeless we can ensure development of safe and appropriate services for this population (Bardine,

Homeless teenagers are a vulnerable population that faces many challenges just in terms of daily existence in addition to their overall development in the transitioning to adulthood. Current studies are reported to indicate that the primary cause of homeless among youth is "family dysfunction in the form of parental neglect, physical or sexual abuse, family substance abuse, and family violence." (Runway & Homeless Youth and Relationship Toolkit, 2009, p.1) Homeless youth are generally defined as "an unaccompanied youth ages 12 and older who are without family support and who are living in shelters, on the streets, in cares or vacant buildings and who are 'couch surfing' or living in other unstable circumstances." (Runway & Homeless Youth and Relationship Toolkit, 2009, p.1) Son (2002) writes that it is "...unknown how many homeless youth are out there. Most of them are not in the child welfare, juvenile justice, or mental health systems, making it difficult to accurately gather statistical data." (p.2)

2). The center also indicated an increase in the numbers of youth who were kicked out of their homes during the past few years. Nearly nine out of the ten agencies reported assisting LGBT youth, and seven out of ten homeless LGBT youth indicated family rejection as a major contributing factor to their homelessness (Grant, et al 2).

The first three sets of theory incorporated the levels, shifting levels of identities shaped by outside agencies for LGBT youth. Another social factor that impending on young sexual minorities are the threats of poverty. These threats cause LGBT youth to experience vulnerability and detriment to their identities. Corliss et al. research validates that statement. In their article, “High Burden of Homelessness Among Sexual-Minority Adolescents: Findings From a Representative, Massachusetts High School, Sample,” they review the prevalence of homelessness in LGBT and heterosexual adolescents (Corliss et al. 1683). Their findings include: 40% LGBT student in the Massachusetts

Twenty percent, about 320,000, of America’s homeless teens identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (Leuween, 2006, para. 5). So many LGBT teenagers become homeless because they don’t receive support or acceptance from their family, community and friends. Homelessness doesn’t only occur because of runaways (Cochran, et al. 2002, para.3). Teenagers can find themselves homeless because their parents lost their jobs and are not able to support them anymore.

Another area that demands acceptance towards sexual orientation is by parents. The average American has heard about an instance where someone “came out of the closet.” Although, most people don’t think about what happens after they tell their parents the truth about their sexuality. For millions of teens across America, their situation results in either running away or being kicked out. According to the TrueColorsFund website, homelessness is experienced by over 1.5 million youth a year, and up to 40% are LGBT. Considering the LGBT community is far smaller than 40% of the entire youth population, a problem is obviously occurring. To extend, the leading cause of homelessness is family disputes over the child’s sexuality (Durso and Gates 4). When a child tells their parents, a negative reaction is expected. In many cases, though, the parents overreact and kick them out because they think abandonment will change their mind and the child will come crawling back. Not accepting their child surrenders them to possibly years on the streets, exposing them to drugs, rape, and prostitution. When their parent’s rejection combines with the common mental health issues of LGBT teens, suicide rates skyrocket. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Nearly one-third (29%) of LGB youth had attempted suicide at least once in the prior year compared to 6% of

There is an inaccurate count of the number of homeless youth individuals are currently in America. They only account for those who are in the shelter’s system, which is a small portion of the total population of homeless youth. One report estimated that only one in twelve homeless youth ever come into contact with the shelter system (Somllar, 1999). The main focus is on “street youth” who are still on the streets with no home, and no adult guidance. The downfall of the system is that it is based on coming in contact with homeless youth, instead of building a rapport with them, and getting an understanding of why they leave home. The causes for the youth to become homeless are as follows; neglect, physical, sexual, and substance abuse, dysfunctional families, as well as family violence. These are often results of suicide, poor coping skills, lack of education, criminal background, and mental health problems. Homeless youth who are homosexual have been found to have a greater and more severe incidence such as depression and suicide than other homeless youth population. In one study of homeless street youth, 53 percent of homosexual adolescents had attempted suicide, compared to 32 percent of a cohort that did not differentiate individuals by sexual orientation (Somllar, 1999).

Homelessness is a problem that the Las Vegas community is currently facing; the rate for teens who are homeless is increasing. The homelessness of youth exists because it seems like it is invisible, people do not take notice of it like adult homelessness. Some action is being taken by schools and specialized associations to try to prevent this persisting

It is complicated to get a practical image of the everyday life of an unaccompanied and homeless youth. The data of homeless youth is rising, but this subgroup of the homeless population remains one of the least understood, most vulnerable, and most convoluted to attain. Once on the street, adolescents are victimized as they are exposed to dangers that equal or exceed the home situations they sought to escape.

When you look at a group of kids entering their elementary school, can you point out the kids that are having trouble getting a meal every day, or the ones that are sleeping on a park bench at night? Most people, when asked about homeless youth say that they didn't even know that was a thing. Homeless youth is a major silent problem in the United States of America that the government needs to address. Schools should have resources for students that are in need of food, a place to sleep, or even clothes. There should be more resources for a student to use outside of school as well.

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

Health and mental health, suicidal ideation, substance abuse, sexual exploitation, and victimization are listed as significant negative outcomes for homeless youth, but are significantly higher for LGBTQ homeless youth (Moskowitz, Stein, and Lightfoot, 2013; Walls & Bell, 2011). There are inherent risks in homelessness for all people, but a quantitative study by Rice et al. (2013), outlined that LGBTQ youth tend to engage in the most risky types of homelessness, such as staying with a stranger and being less likely to stay in shelter. The study further revealed that these practices place adolescents at greater risk of victimization.

Imagine you are sitting on a curb hungry and cold with nowhere to go. Sadly this is the reality for thousands of youth just in America alone. Not only do they deal with these physical problems everyday but they also reap the effects mentally because “furthermore, homeless youth face difficulties attending school because of legal guardianship requirements, residency requirements, improper records, and lack of transportation. As a result, homeless youth face severe challenges in obtaining an education and supporting themselves emotionally and financially.” (citation ). These challenges can be seen as extremely detrimental to all ages of youth and drastically impact their lives. So therefore, better government programs need to be created in

Dr. Stephen T. Russell is the Priscilla Pond Flawn Regends Professor in Child Development in the University of Texas at Austin’s Department of Human Development and Family Sciences. Among Russell’s other credentials, he is an expert on LGBTQ youth with a concentration in their health and rights (personal communication, September 22, 2017). He presented at the University of Virginia Curry School of Education on his research pertaining to LGBTQ youth health and resilience on September 22, 2017. This talk was sponsored by Youth-Nex, which is a center at the Curry School of Education that works to promote effective youth development (“About Youth-Nex,” 2017), and the University of Virginia Department of Women, Gender, and