Youth are the Foundation
Throughout the U.S people are constantly finding something to complain about that it affects each and every one of us. The issue with this is that so many disastrous and awful things happen right in front of our faces and are not addressed. One of those very issues is the homeless and it can be found in any big city around the country. The real issue is how those homeless grew up and the likelihood that those very people experienced in their youth. Youth homelessness is much more common than one would assume, and the scary fact is that “34% of the total homeless population is under age 24” (“11 Facts”). This prevalent issue causes turmoil and constant disruptions in a child’s life and in turn their adult life. This
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Little do people know that more than two million kids will experience homelessness for a period of time each year (“Covenant”). The children who find themselves homeless have various reasons, that can range from, leaving foster, running away from abuse/neglect, and their families not having the means to support them. When the youth end up on the streets for extended periods of time are more likely to be introduced to drugs, gang activity, and are more prone to be involved in violence and crime. Some may argue that just because a child may be homeless does not necessarily mean that children will be doing drugs and committing crime, but “about 80% of homeless youth (aged 12-21) use drugs or alcohol as a means to self-medicate…” (“11 Facts”). These kids are going through traumatic events, leaving home, and then finding themselves without vital skills required to support themselves in the real world. This leads to permanent homelessness and the inability to get back up on their feet. There are ways to combat this and with more awareness companies can drastically lower the likelihood of youth …show more content…
Some organizations found around the country such as Boys and Girls Club and Big Brothers, Big Sisters offer ways for children to have access to programs after school to help homeless and underprivileged kids alike. Another program founded right here in Saint Louis in 1998, is Lift for Life academy in which inner city kids get engaged and personal learning to help them move from grade school into universities and the military and do better for themselves. Having such an influential program that can produce results could be key in the education of poor and homeless children. The school has stated that “There is no charge to families because funding comes from state and local tax dollars. Lift For Life Academy is a unique charter school because we are governed by a volunteer Board of Directors made up of community leaders– not by a management company.” (“Frequently”). This idea along with the other two clubs could be an excellent outline of how to be able to help the homeless and avoid more children from becoming
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.
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’.
There are over 85,000 homeless people in Michigan. According to the National Coalition for the Homeless the population is estimated to be: Forty-two percent African American, Thirty-nine percent White, thirteen percent Hispanic, four percent Native American and two percent Asian. Fifty percent of the homeless people include adult and children families. More than half of Michigan’s total homeless population is children. The average age of homeless child is 7.6 years old.
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.
Homelessness is a real serious health issue all over the world that must be addressed. A lot of people in a public frequently misunderstand the cause of homelessness. Remarks regarding homeless people such as “they need to just get a job” or “go to school” are normally used liberally by members of society because they neglect to look at the complete issue. Homelessness does not discriminate. Individuals that have previously experience or may experience being homeless can be from different regions, have different cultural backgrounds, ages, and could be of any gender. Minorities seem to be mostly affected by homelessness. A study done in 2012 found that the homeless population is consisted of 39% non-Hispanic Whites, 42% African-Americans, 13% Hispanic, 4% Native-American, and 2% Asian (Now on PBS, 2012). The End Homelessness website provides the following statistics:
Have you ever thought about the possibilities of becoming homeless? I think about that almost every day; I try to comprehend and picture in my head the life as someone that lives on or off the streets of New York. New York isn’t one of the cleanest places in the United States, but it sure has one of the highest percentage rates in the U.S. for homeless people. In the 21st century, people raised in the U.S. are not taught about the struggles of homelessness and what they have to go through to survive; most people don’t plan on becoming homeless and became homeless due to the fluctuation in the market and various other problems. Also not only the homeless, but people in depth (people struggling to pay bills or drug addicts) and other people suffering also has to survive.
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...
Over half a million people are homeless in the United States. A quarter of these homeless people are under the age of eighteen, or also known as children. 50 percent of the homeless that are over eighteen years, are fifty and older with health and injury prone problems. One in five homeless people suffers from untreated severe mental illness, and half of these people self medicate themselves. Eight percent of the homeless population are veterans, and forty-five percent of that number is blacks or Hispanics. Most people think that being homeless means begging for money on the streets with a sign, or sleeping on the sidewalk with your dog or cat and maybe even a bag to store some things in; but what does “being homeless” actually mean? Homelessness in the United States and is a bigger problem than most people think.
Homeless situations are a concern because there are a number of homeless children in the United States and continues to rise (McDaniel, 2012). Homeless people struggle to survive because they live in housing that is not livable or does not have a home and therefore, they live in cardboard boxes, in the alley, or wherever they can find shelter. In reality, this affects the ability for a
Gattis and Larson suggest, “interested parties could benefit from an improved understanding of the mental health needs of homeless adolescents. This knowledge could be used to identify youths at risk of becoming homeless and to provide appropriate services to those currently homeless” (p. 87). In short, education and knowledge regarding the homelessness in itself can do wonders. The homeless face many hardships including depression, anxiety, PTSD, discrimination, and suicidal thoughts. These are just a few things that homeless people face that the general population don’t take into consideration on a first glance or thought. Intervention and world of mouth will also help, because this is a topic society doesn’t necessary publicize, we don’t know much about it. If this is publicized in a positive way, the motivation and self-esteem from homeless people will also rise. The increase of access to insurance would also help prevent this. In order to get treated for any mental illness they have, they need insurance. With active treatment for a mental illness, this will heighten the likelihood of obtaining a reliable job. Which in turn, will essentially help prevent the homeless from being
As a result of anti-poverty legislation being placed into effect all over the country to force workers back into the capitalist labour market, which has taken hold in neoliberalism, the number of families finding themselves on the brink of homeless is skyrocketing. Furthermore, with the reduction of social assistance programs these families are barely able to provide for themselves, therefore, numerous children are being physically impacted by homelessness. According to Jenny Hsu (2015) hunger and physical illness are effects children and youth may experience due to homelessness that greatly affect their development which is unacceptable for our government to allow this many young people to be negatively impacted. Thus, the links between these
Youth become homeless for a number of reasons including: family violence and neglect, rejection due to sexual orientation or gender identity, the overwhelmed child welfare system and extreme poverty. These youth almost always have experienced unimaginable abuse and trauma, in their homes, their communities, and on the street. It is the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA)-funded services and programs that help to rectify the deep injustices that homeless youth experience on a daily basis.
Grant, R., Gracy, D., Goldsmith, G., Shapiro, A., & Redlener, I. E. (2013). Twenty-Five Years of Child and Family Homelessness: Where Are We Now?. American Journal Of Public Health, 103(S2), e1-e10. doi:10.2105/AJPH. 2013.301618
However, despite this prevailing idea, according to “ Statistics on homeless Youths in America”, the author concluded that “ more than 25% of former foster children become homeless with two to four years of leaving the system, 50% of adolescent aging out of the foster care and juvenile justice system will be homeless within six months because they are unprepared to live independently and have limited education and no social support” ( Statistics on Youth in America). Though these reasons may be valid,the percentage of youths that end up homeless once leaving the care is to high making all the efforts put towards aiding them through their teens years worth lee. With this being said if there has to be another way to prevent the amount of youths becoming homeless to further
Homelessness is a growing epidemic across the country. Over 2 million people are homeless in America, and that number is increasing. 40% are families with kids, 30% are drug and/or alcohol addicts, 23% are mentally ill and 10% are veterans (Triplett, 2004, para. 1). This terrible misfortune has led to many unsuspecting people leading impoverished lifestyles, and facing the horrific and heart-wrenching tragedy of abandonment. The purpose of this essay is to not only persuade the readers to get involved in ending homelessness on local and national efforts, but to embrace new and creative ways of helping to end this rapidly growing problem, by taking action to end this catastrophic situation. Also, the causes and effects of why the homeless resort to violence, will be demonstrated by using comparison and contrast to examine the views and standpoints on helping the forgotten, so that we might end this calamity once and for all. In an increasingly interconnected world, your actions matter more than ever. You can make an indelible difference by taking action to end this tragic situation.