Introduction . When Researchers Asked A Group Of Homeless

Homelessness has been a prevalent and contentious topic since its public emergence in the 1980’s. In fact, according to the most recent estimates, on any given night in the United States, there are roughly 645,000 people residing in homeless shelters or unsheltered street locations (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2011). And based on a local study done by the Mental Health Unit at the Houston Police Department in 2011, Houston has the largest homeless population in Texas and the eighth largest in the United States. While many great efforts have been put forth to aid the homeless population in Houston, “the public health epidemiology task of quantifying and tracking child and family homelessness over time has been complicated…by increasing rates of…shortages [in] affordable housing” (Grant et al., 2013), and restrictions on temporary encampments (Loftus-Ferren, 2013). In order to successfully reduce, prevent and combat homelessness, more policies must be put in place to create sustainable, affordable housing for homeless families and to modify current laws that harm homeless individuals.

“The National Center on Family Homelessness currently estimates that as many as fifty U. S. children (1.5 million) are homeless or “precariously housed” in temporary quarters such as motels and shelters” (Cohen, 2009). Today’s economic crisis is not helping this growing number of families that are being relocated as home foreclosures and loss of jobs add to the overwhelming number of homeless

Homelessness in the United States can be ended, not just maintained. Allot of cities now have plans to eradicate homelessness. Homelessness and housing instability are large issues that afflict a diverse demographic such as: Families, youth, veterans, and chronically homeless single male adults. Ending homelessness may require specialized solutions that are specific to individual needs. Factors like these make defeating homelessness a difficult task. Although solutions exist for some of the demographics, such as housing for chronically homeless adults, scaling up best practices remains a challenge. For other subpopulations, such as transitional aged youth, evidence-based interventions need to be developed. In this paper we argue that ending homelessness is a Grand Challenge that is big, important, and compelling—one that the profession of social work should be adopt. Meeting this challenge will require a focused, organized response from social work researchers, clinicians, and policymakers. Ending homelessness will require innovation and interdisciplinary or cross-sector collaboration. Key words: Housing First, Permanent Supportive Housing, rapid re-housing, prevention, poverty. The notion that homelessness in the United States can be ended, rather than managed (Mangano, 2002; National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2012), represents a fundamental shift in expectations from the 1980s and ’90s. Since the early 2000s, researchers, policymakers, advocates,

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.

Homeless families compose a fraction of the homeless population as they “represent roughly a third of the homeless population in the United States (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2010), and approximately 1.5 million children—1 in 50 youngsters—are homeless each year in the United States” (p. 389). These homeless families often struggle to find permanent residency as a collective unit. There are several types of housing situations available for homeless families such as temporary housing, transitional housing settings, and shelters, yet the housing situation for homeless families often causes stress for families as stability and a secure home is always in question. “The lack of stable, consistent housing is the central, defining characteristic of families experiencing homelessness, distinguishing them and their experience(s) from those with stable housing who experience other correlated conditions (e.g., poverty)” (Kilmer, Cook, Crusto, Strater, and Haber, 2012, p. 394). Homeless families often seek different types of housing usually by first reaching out to temporary shelters in emergency situations like domestic violence that often lead to homelessness, which provide services for children and families. There are many challenges families encounter in the process of seeking permanent housing.

Many youth who have or are still living on the streets have faced sexual or physical abuse from an adult at some point in their lives and the data states that 61% of all youth face this (McKay, E, (2009). Seeing the Possibilities. The Need for a Mental health Focus Amongst Street-Involved Youth: Recognizing and Supporting Resilience. Toronto: Wellesley Institute.). Approximately 1,500 – 2,000 homeless youth make up the total amount of homeless people sleeping on the streets every night in Toronto; this number is considerably large and it continues to grow because the issue of youth homelessness or homelessness in general is not thought of as a priority by various levels of government and therefore

According to the state of New York, approximately thirty thousand families were living at shelters in 2012. I am not ashamed to say that my family and I were included in those statistics. For the past three years, the percentage of families in shelters around New York City have increased. Growing up in The Bronx was extremely challenging for adolescents due to the amount of drugs and crime. Many families are receiving help from the city and still can not afford housing or food. Homelessness has also increased, creating every corner a new home. Although I have faced countless issues growing up, I have been taught an infinite amount of lessons. I have learned that failure is not always a bad thing in life, achievements include hard work and

The effects of teen homelessness are many ranging from untreated physical and mental health to drug and alcohol dependence. Many youth also fall victim to the prison system and even death due to criminal behavior as a means of survival. During my research a study was conducted on youth entering and exiting the foster care system. Research has shown that the very systems put into place to ensure child safety and reduce outcomes such as poverty have place more youth at risk “Homelessness and its associated psychosocial effects continue to plague American urban centers. Especially troubling are suggestions that foster care functions as a pipeline to the streets for older adolescents leaving the system. Surveys of service providers and homeless populations suggest that young people exiting foster care have difficulty securing stable housing” (Fowler, Toro, & Miles, 2009, p.1).

This Scholarly article focuses on a study that is being conducted for a three months. The volunteers for this study are runaways, homeless and people who have experienced some kind of abuse. The age group resulted in twenty-three fourteen

Youth homelessness can be define as young individuals, ranging from age 12 to around 25, who are without any support from their families, and are either living on the streets or at a shelter. There are often “referred to as “unaccompanied” youth.” (National Coalition for Homelessness (NCH), 2007). Unaccompanied youths can be categorized as runaway-homeless youths, throwaways, and independent youths. Runaway- homeless youths are youths that leave home without any parental permission. Youths that leave their homes because parents encourage them to leave are categorize as throwaways. The final classified as independent youths who leave home because of family conflicts or other issues. (Aratani, 2009).

Homelessness, especially among the youth (12-24 years of age), is difficult to capture in data due to the invisibility of this population. The homeless and independent youth are, generally, not part of formal institutions like homeless shelters or mental health systems. As a response to the dire circumstances these youths face on a daily basis, they come to rely on internal informal networks that they trust. Consequently, it is common for young, homeless and independent, individuals to temporarily stay with different friends: constantly moving from one couch to another. This network of trust is invaluable to this population and is a potential key for policy makers to look at unconventional methods to identify and address the most pressing needs.

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.

Theoretical Article This article attempts to offer an understanding of why higher rates of mental illness occur amongst homeless children despite their frequent use of mental health and other social services by providing a theoretical model. The theoretical model proposed to explain elevated rates of mental health problems among homeless children as the result of accumulated stress triggered by chronic instability, including housing instability and repeated service disruptions (school changes, social services disruptions, and social network disruption). Children in homeless families often experience various adverse circumstances such as extreme poverty, household chaos, family instability, and violence. And such adverse experiences, affect

There were 400 respondents based on 4 criteria’s: (1) respondents must be 24 and under; (2) must have left or completed school; (3) must be unemployed; (4) They must have been in a shelter or without a home in the previous 12 months. Baron conducted a cross-sectional “high risk” sample of 400 homeless street youths. They were interviewed on the street, in parks, bus shelters, fast food restaurants, or in front of social service agencies with interviews averaging 70 minutes in length. In the study, criminal involvement was the dependent variable.

Children of many ages are affected by these tremendous problems resulting from homelessness that have just become greater as time has passed. Homelessness leaves long lasting scars on these children (Crary 2). “The burden places upon these people can influence every facet of their lives; from contraception to early adulthood” (Hart-Shegos 2). All stages of life are affected by this experience of homelessness and severe problems can be caused in every stage.