Homeless Youth Research Paper

Homeless youth, otherwise referred to as unaccompanied youth, are minors who lack parental, foster, or institutional care (Homeless Youth). At any given moment, approximately six hundred thousand teenagers between the ages of 10 and 17 gain homeless status and suffer from the bitter realities of homelessness in the streets of America; the disturbingly large rate rises high above that of countries throughout the developed world. While one-third of homeless American teenagers belong to a chronically homeless family, the remaining two-thirds are independent stemming from many causes. Though there is no typical homeless youth and each case of homelessness is unique, difficult transitions, family conflicts, and economic difficulties among common forces driving youth into homelessness. Youth who age out of foster care at age eighteen face a number of challenges during the transition into adulthood; among the greatest of those challenges may be achieving housing stability. Various studies published have found high rates of homelessness among former foster youth who aged out of care. Family problems including physical and sexual abuse, substance abuse, and parental neglect cause young adolescents to feel unwelcome or uncomfortable in their own homes. According to a study

Minors in states of homelessness often begin to lack education due to the lack of transportation to and from school and insufficiency of appropriate records; the lack of education makes the potential of becoming financially stable in the future slim. Many homeless youth become resistant to change, either by choice or by circumstance, and remain in challenging circumstances throughout their adult life. Many homeless youth become stuck on the track of homelessness without the help of organizations who aim to help these specific