Homelessness is often characterized as adults living on the streets taking shelter beneath the interwoven overpasses of the city or standing alongside busy intersections begging for money. Yet, children, those under 18 years of age, are generally not associated with the homeless status as they are invisible, not seen by the general public with their homeless counterparts taking up residence in make-shift housing. Nonetheless, there is a large percent of youth who meet the guidelines for being deemed homeless. The website, findyouthinfo.gov, says the U.S Department of Education defines a homeless youth as one whom:
Lacks a fixed, regular, and nighttime residence or an individual who has a primary residence that is a) a supervised or publically operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations; b) an institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized including welfare hotels, congregate shelters, and transitional housing for the mentally ill; or c) a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, regular sleeping accommodation for human beings (Runaway and Homeless Youth section. para. 2).
Nationally, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention estimated there are 1,682,900 homeless youth with an average age of 17 (National Coalition of Homeless [NCH], 2007). Accordingly, The Houston Coalition for the Homeless (2013), identified 6,359 adults as being homeless within the Houston Community on January 29, 2013. The daunting task of counting the homeless is a federal mandate (Point in Time [PIT]) that occurs during the last 10 days of January. The goal is to identify the number of veterans, families that include children, as well a...
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...o End Homelessness: Chronic Homelessness. Retrieved March 19, 2014, from http://www.endhomelessness.org/pages/chronic_homelessness
National Coalition for the Homeless. Homeless Youth. Retrieved March 19, 2014, from http://www.nationalhomeless.org/publications/facts/youth.pdf
National Network For Youth | NN4Y | Giving Homeless Youth a Voice. The Consequences of Youth Homelessness. Retrieved March 19, 2014, from http://www.nn4youth.org/system/files/IssueBrief_Youth_Homelessness.pdf
Texas Education Agency - Welcome. Texas Education Agency - Homeless Issues FAQ. Retrieved March 27, 2014, from http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index4.aspx?id=2147503685
Troisi, C., & Grier, G. (2013, 19). Houston Coalition for the Homeless. Homeless in Houston: It’s Cold Out There. Retrieved March 19, 2014, from http://www.homelesshouston.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/2013-PIT-Lunch-Learn.pdf
Although The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act is a program that guarantees education for the homeless youth population, many homeless do not receive the proper services they need because they are not aware of available resources (Heinze & Jozefowicz-Simbeni, 2009). Many homeless youths do not have a safe place to stay during the night or do not have any family or friends to rely on for support. In addition, approximately 7% of youth members in the United States are left without a home because of high dependence on an addictive substance or because they have been diagnosed with a mental health disorder (Heinze & Jozefowicz-Simbeni, 2009). Services that could provide shelter for the youth are often underused. Research in homeless youth
Gwinnett County Public School (2010, June). Education for Homeless Children and Youth. Retrieved February 4, 2014, from http://www.gwinnett.k12.ga.us/gcps-mainweb01.nsf/F42D74FA4ECBBFED85257754006DDA21/$file/HEP_Parent_Brochure_10-11.pdf
...erging Adult Homeless in Two U.S. Cities. National Association of Social Workers, 58(2), 173-175. doi: 10.1093/sw/swt006
Youth homelessness in Ontario is not a new phenomenon, it has become more and more severe over the past 20 years. “One third of homeless individuals on the streets are under the age of 25”(Cino, Rose). It is a significant social justice issue in Canada. Within our community people are increasingly aware of the sight of youth sleeping in parks, asking for money and sitting on sidewalks. Youth homelessness in Ontario is primarily caused by tragic life occurrences such as abuse, illness or unemployment.
Family homelessness is a fairly new social problem in America. Beginning in the early 1980’s, families with children have become the fastest growing segment of the homeless population.
Homeless Youth: Characteristics, Contributing Factors, and Service Options. Journal Of Human Behavior In The Social Environment, 20(2), 193-217. doi:10.1080/10911350903269831
The youth homelessness population is increasing because of the many challenges that these children or teens face in everyday life; It also continues getting larger every year because of the many youth who are getting into dangerous situations that force them to be homeless or thru their own choosing. One third of the homeless population is between the ages of 16-24, which is incredibly young and it is the prime years for an adolescent or young adu...
Introduction to Homelessness: Opposing Viewpoints." Homelessness. Ed. Tamara Thompson. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.
"Overview of Homelessness In America." Homelessness In America. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2013. .
This great nation of awesome power and abundant resources is losing the battle against homelessness. The casualties can be seen on the street corners of every city in American holding an ?I will work for food? sign. Homeless shelters and rescue missions are at full capacity. There is no room at the inn for the nation?s indigent. Anyone who has studied this issue understands that homelessness is a complex problem. Communities continue to struggle with this socio-economic problem while attempting to understand its causes and implement solutions. The public and private sectors of this country are making a difference in the lives of the homeless by addressing the issues of housing, poverty and education.
Homelessness is one of the biggest issues society (Unites States) faces today. Homelessness is caused by lack of affordable housing, economic situations and decline in federal funding for low income families and the mentally ill. A homeless person is defined as an individual who lacks housing (without regard to whether the individual is a member of a family) including an individual whose primary residence during the night is a supervised public or private (shelters) facility that provides temporary living accommodations and an individual who is a resident in transitional housing. This definition of housing is used by the U.S Department of Healt...
Child and Youth Services, 89-109. National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth, N. (2012). Homeless Education 101 -. Retrieved from Michigan Department of Education: http://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,1607,7-140-6530_30334_40067---,00.html.
With nearly 3.18 million people in the United States, there are 610.042 individuals who are homeless which calculates to about nearly one in five individuals (U.S. Census Bureau, 2014 and HUD/US, 2013). At any time situations can change that can render an individual’s homeless. There are no qualities that exempt individuals from the chances of becoming homeless. However, there are certain predispositions and characteristics that can predict the likelihood of becoming homeless. Homelessness can be contributed to a number of situations such as occupational stress, financial stress, mental health issues, substance use, gender, age, race, disabilities, incarceration, chronic illness, and family stress.
There are an estimated 2,981 homeless people in San Antonio each day. Out of these, 1,243 were unsheltered and a staggering 31% of those are people with families. In addition, the average age of a homeless child in San Antonio is 6 years old. An overall picture shows that homelessness has dropped nearly four percent from 2012 to 2013. Further, an average of 610,042 people are homeless across the United States on any given night. “Of that number, 36 percent – 222,197 people – were in families, representing a drop of 7 percent for that group” (Chappell, 2013, p. #). More than a third of these people were not found in shelters, abandoned buildings, cars, or under bridges. Although, there has been a small decline in homelessness, it’s still necessary to drastically change these statistics by solving the causes of homelessness. Sleeping in vacant buildings and under bridges is unacceptable. These statistics are very alarming and a solution needs to be found.
“Homeless is more than being without a home. It is tied into education needs, food, security; health issues both mental and physical, employment issues, etc. Don’t forget the whole picture.” (“Boxed In” 2005 pg. 108)