The Effects of Homelessness on the Overall Self-Esteem of Homeless Youth

Acute disorders, such as lice infestations, to major health risks such as nutritional deficiencies and upper respiratory infections are five to ten times more likely to develop while being a homeless child. When it comes to homeless youth, an amazing 14% of girls aged 13 to 15 were pregnant since being homeless (Kryder-Coe, 1991). Sexually transmitted diseases are also seven to eight times more likely to be contracted by homeless youth than normal youths. Alcohol and substance abuse, as well as severe psychotic disorders, are somewhat common in homeless children, but almost nonexistent among normal children.

Being homeless presents many challenges for youth that they normally live day to day, unable to develop plans for forming a productive life structure. Since many homeless youth don’t have money so they start begging or selling drugs or start prostituting to earn money to cover their basic needs. The basic problem of homelessness is the human need for personal shelter,

Homelessness is one of the oldest problems that exist, fast forward almost 40 years since it’s been recognized as one and still there has been no avail to finding a real solution. The definition of homelessness under the McKinney-Vento Homelessness Assistance Act is defined as an individual: “who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence; and a person who has a nighttime residence that is supervised publicly or privately operated shelter, and c) an institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized, or a private or public place not designed for, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.”

A common misconception of homeless youth is that even if they do become homeless they are not homeless for long. The National Alliance to End

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.

Homelessness tends to be associated with images of people who sleep in the streets, parks, subways, and sidewalks; who lack shelter of any kind, and are transient throughout the year, moving from place to place. The homeless are sometimes considered as undeserving of support; they are frequently stigmatized as being mentally ill, out of control, and are viewed by some as personally responsible for their situation (Phelan, Link, Moore & Stueve, 1997).

In youth homelessness these children, adolescents and even young adults are being exposed to many dangerous drugs, alcohol, and people.

The National Health Care for the Homeless project showed that children up to twelve years of age that are homeless, are twice as likely to come down with an ear or upper respiratory infection. They are three times as likely to have a gastrointestinal problem and four times as likely to have a skin problem and ten times more likely to have bad teeth. For children thirteen to nineteen there

Throughout the United States, there are a large number of individuals that goes unnoticed. Hidden in right plain sight, but are overlooked. They can be our friends, family, classmates, or the person standing right next you to at this moment. There are young individuals who are facing the tremendous challenge of being homeless. They are overlooked by many in society. However, there have been countless individuals, groups, organizations dedicated to ending youth homelessness. However, they are confronted with challenges due to the lack of interest. The lack of interest found within society can contribute to barriers to ending youth homelessness.

Majority of American families are a paycheck, illness or car breakdown away from homelessness. One of the fastest growing segments of the homeless population is families with children. A survey conducted in 25 cities in the U.S found that 36% of the homeless population was composed of families with children, (Millennial Housing Commission. Meeting Our Nation's Housing Challenges, 2002). Homeless children have demonstrated serious developmental and learning delays, and are more likely to drop out of school compared to children with stable living conditions. Single Homeless adults are mostly men between the ages of 31 and 50 years of age. Approximately half of the single adult homeless have use or a have a history of substance abuse. About a third of this population has serious or ongoing illnesses. Another segment of the homeless population are thruway or runway youth. One study showed that approximately one and a half million youth in America were homes at least one night in the course of a year, (U.S. Conference of Mayors. Status Report on Hunger and Homelessness, 2001). Homelessness is a result of complex circumstances in which people are made to choose from the basic human

In Judy Daniels’ article entitled "Humanistic Interventions for Homeless Students: Identifying and Reducing Barriers to Their Personal Development," the author is successful in describing real-life examples of the effects of homelessness on school-aged children. She starts out with the story of Angie, a high school student who lives in a tent with her mother and two siblings. After being caught for fighting with her classmates, Angie is sent to the counselor’s office where she confesses her frustration with her current living situation.

Many people have preconceived ideas or thoughts about the homeless population. Some of these thoughts are the individuals are lazy, unmotivated, drug addicts, ill, dirty, and mentally unstable. Then bring in the aging population and the perceptions of incompetence, incontinent, and incapable all of which have been documented beliefs among service professionals such as doctors, nurses, social workers, and mental health professional (Kane, Green, & Jacobs, 2013). Until these perceptions

Homelessness is a continuing growing problem, with more and more not just adults but children forced to live on the streets. Homeless people are humans just like us. Being homeless, you

A child being raised by homeless parents is more likely to develop the traits of antisocial personality disorder because homeless people are treated considerably different than the average being. Because homeless people are treated lower than the average person their children are at a much higher risk for developing social disorders such anti-social personality disorder since they are limited to their parents for socializing, they don’t normally go to their early years of school where they learn the majority of

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.