Alone Without a Home: Homeless Runaway Youths Across the country, there are children who leave home to avoid the dangers of home only to face the dangers of living on the streets. For some the urge to leave is short lived and they return home. For others it can be a lifetime of struggle as the situation they once thought was a good solution suddenly becomes a never ending nightmare as they fight to survive and face the harsh reality that they have no place to turn to. Homeless runaway youth are on the rise in the US and is a serious issue. One in seven youth between the ages of 10 and 18 will run away and never return (National Runaway Switchboard, 2010). A homeless runaway youth refers to those individuals under the age of 18 that are unaccompanied who has left the care of his or her parents or guardian without permission and lack the parental, foster, or intuitional care to live on their own. This can also refer to the individuals who are thrown out of their home by their parents. It estimate there are 1.3 million homeless, and runaway youths living unsupervised on the streets in abandoned buildings, in shelters, transitional housing, with friends, or with strangers according to the National Runaway Switchboard (2010). Such issues as family dysfunction or economic instability can cause some youths to become homeless but many youths leave home for different reasons. Often youths will runaway to get away from strenuous relationships such as physical and sexual abuse parental neglect or addiction of a family member. Some youths become homeless as result of being encouraged by their parents to leave. Normally during disruptive family conditions, a situation in which an angry parent intentionally forces their child out on the... ... middle of paper ... ...chboard. (2010, July). Media Sourcebook 2010. Retrieved Dec 02, 2010, from National Runaway Switchboard: www.nrscrisisline.org Pergamit, M. P., & Ernst, M. P. (2010, Apr). Runaway Youth's Knowledge and Access of Services: Youth on Streets & Shelters. Retrieved Dec 02, 2010, from National Runaway Switchboard: http://www.nrscrisisline.org/media/documents/NORC_Final_Report_4_22_10.pdf Thompson, S. J., Maccio, E. M., Desselle, S. K., & Zittel-Palamara, K. (2007, Aug). Predictors of Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms Among Runaway Youth Utilizing Two Service Sectors. Retrieved Dec 02, 2010, from National Institute of Health: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2776719/ WCSAP. (2004, Oct). Homeless, Runaway & Throwaway Youth: Sexual Victimization and the Consequences of Life on the Streets. Retrieved Dec 02, 2010, from WCSAP: http://www.wcsap.org/pdf/RAD%207-1.pdf
Finkelstein, M. (2005). With no direction home: homeless youth on the road and in the streets. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.
Furthermore, facilities frequently concentrate on “quick-fix” interventions instead of focusing on their qualities that empower them and concentrating on long-term aspirations (Heinze & Jozefowicz-Simbeni, 2009). For the most part, it is extremely hard to access health care for the youth population because they face various restrictions. It is not surprising that many homeless adolescents do not have a way of seeking services even if they are the population that needs it the most. Homeless youth are at a higher risk of adverse outcomes such as not being able to further their education, getting incarcerated, developing a mental health disorder, and engaging in alcohol dependency and unsafe sexual behavior (Heinze & Jozefowicz-Simbeni, 2009). Children without a home are more prone to live in inconsistent and harsh living conditions categorized by family and school issues. Although; many homeless youths do not experience desirable outcomes housing programs and similar services serve a primary support system to help reduce homelessness. Services that promise better living conditions are shown to enhance lifestyles and a positive development into adulthood.
http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/526/homeless-facts.html>. Johnson, Regina Jones, Lynn Rew, and R. Weylin Sternglanz. " The relationship between childhood sexual abuse and sexual health practices of homeless adolescents/Adolescense." BNET - The CBS Interactive Business Network. Adolescence, 22 June 2006.
This can range from divorce to mental illnesses (“Factors Contributing To Homelessness”). In some statistics taken from The Homeless Resource Network, the biggest cause of homelessness is from the loss of job or income someone is bringing in. If someone were to lose a job unexpectedly, they could have trouble finding a job with the same income they were used to earning, making it hard to keep necessities in their life. Another important element that contributes to people becoming homeless is the use of drugs and alcohol. Even though most people who have one of these addictions do not become homeless, it becomes a problem when they are poor and the addictions take over their life (“Homelessness in
On a Micro level of social work I feel that the strengths of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act outweigh the weaknesses greatly. Although the services might not always benefit the client the main goal is to provide successful services to the youth. Depending on the situation it is stated in the RHYA that many youth are in need of urgent temporary shelter and services. First and for most safe and appropriate shelter is provided for the homeless youth. Individual, family and group counseling services are available under this act. () As well as providing the youth with many opportunities, such as drug prevention, street and home based services, GED and high school training, acquiring job skills and obtaining employment. Along the line of basic services offered, most age ranges are covered. Immediate shelter, a Transitional Living Program and a Maternity group home are offered to these youth coming off the streets. The Maternity Group home provides supervised transitiona...
Even with the daily struggle faced by youth in obtaining shelter and homelessness becoming a reality for a growing number of Canadians, Canada, with its high quality of life is one country that has always had a global long-standing reputation. This paper will be working towards giving the reader a better understanding with regards to homeless youth. It will be focusing on the reasons why they leave home, their lives on the street and steps they are trying to take to be able to leave the streets. An important finding from this research suggests, “the street youth population is diverse, complex, and heterogeneous”. According to Karabanow, made up of a number of subcultures including hardcore street-entrenched young people, squatters, group home kids, child welfare kids, soft-core twinkles, runaways, throwaways, refugees and immigrants is the generic term ‘street 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
Meade, M. & Slesnick, N. (2002). Ethical considerations for research and treatment with runaway and homeless adolescents. Journal of Psychology, 149(4), 449-463. doi:
There are many things that can cause one to be homeless but this research will focus on the two main reasons, insufficient economic resources and affordable housing. Other causes include lack of education, domestic violence, mental illness, substance abuse and etc.
Abuse and neglect are one of the top three leading causes of youth homelessness. “Studies show 70 percent of homeless youth have suffered some form of physical, sexual or emotional abuse”
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 homeless youth is a term that is used to say how a large group of youth run away from home, unaccompanied youth, someone who has forced their child out of the house or leaves them behind somewhere, and also youth who are in foster care.
Some of these people can not help becoming homeless. Some of these people are the illegal immigrants that come here from other places to get a better life, but end up not having enough money to make it in this hard world that we live in. Teenage runaways have different reasons for leaving home, but all have the same reason for becoming homeless. They simply just do not have enough money. Others are drug and alcohol abusers and disabled people.
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 overcome or at least reduced, by reducing family conflict, severe economic hardship and abuse.
This sources started out by giving an overview of youth homelessness and it is a serious issue in the United States. About 550,000 youth experience homelessness. There are a lot of reason youth become homeless like, family conflicts, abusive household, parental substance abuse, and some are kicked out because of their sexual orientations. Then the sources