Youth Homelessness In The United States

614 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Solutions for homelessness

There are various social issues that we are currently facing as a nation, I believe that all are of importance and should be addressed. One social issue that is important to me is that of youth homelessness. The National Center for Housing and Child Welfare states that there are between 1 million and 1.7 million homeless youth in the United States (Fernandes-Alcantara, 2013). There are various reasons on why there are so many homeless youth; one reason is that a good amount of these kids are in the foster care system and once they age out of the system, some have no where to go and are unable to financially support themselves. Between 11% to 37% of youth aging out of foster care experienced homelessness and around 25% to 50% of youth aging …show more content…

Which in turn would give me the opportunity to focus on social/institutional change on issues such as youth homelessness. I would be interested in being able to better collaborate with other fields such as education. I would be able to provide resources and services to at risk students in the classroom along with providing outside services. I plan to address youth homelessness the best way I possibly can. That includes, researching the various organizations throughout the city that aim to help homeless youth, conducting and researching data, mentoring homeless youth, participating in community outreach, and actively attending programs that target to end youth homelessness and creating prevention or early intervention services in hopes that it may help someone avoid homelessness. I would work towards finding solutions; according to The National Alliance to End Homelessness (n.d) there are several solutions on how we can all address this issue. To create prevention programs, I would address the underlying causes for youth homelessness, providing crisis and early intervention programs that will provide support to those who have recently become unaccompanied youth, work with shelters, and find the best resources so that no youth has to spend a night on the streets to fend for themselves. Providing and being aware of all long term housing services is something I would focus on as well, this will provide support and resources for youth that have no where to live, especially to those that cannot return home. It is important that these services are accessible to youth that need help and are widely available everywhere in the country, which is what I will work to do, seek every option and collaborate with other social workers, lawmakers, and the

Show More
Related

  • Mckinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act Case Study

    1273 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Homeless Youth in Canada

    911 Words  | 2 Pages

    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’.

    Read More

  • The Problem of Homelessness of Young People in Australia

    641 Words  | 2 Pages

    If you wanted to examine young people's experiences of homelessness, would you use qualitative methods, or quantitative methods, or a mixed methods approach, and why?

    Read More

  • GPA Should Be Able To Get Free College Tuition

    511 Words  | 2 Pages

    1 in every 30 children are homeless, that is nearly 2.5 million. These children should have an opportunity to go to college and be able to help situations back at home and finish their college to get their degree. This idea of many being homeless expands to be something bigger but being to start off with something as little as giving free college tuition can make a difference . A driver of homelessness is poverty. There is a high poverty rate for single parents struggling with education and unemployment. These children should not be seen for who they are in the temporary living situations but who they will be in the future. With help, the number of homeless children will go down and the number attending college will

    Read More

  • Youth Homelessness In Canada

    1841 Words  | 4 Pages

    I have heard stories from my friends that are horrible, especially considering they were all under 18 during these events within their lives. Therefore, I believe the homeless youth in our community need more attention due to their age and lack of confidence. For example, my boyfriend Alex was homeless when we started dating. All of his siblings were taken away separately from child services due to abuse, addiction and neglect within his family. He lived in a shelter where teens were using drugs, stealing and some were even into prostitution. I do understand that not all shelters are this way, but in his experience, he has lived in three different ones and all of them had some of these factors within them. I used to believe there were many options for the homeless, especially teenagers, but from my own second-hand experiences there are really not that many alternatives. “Sometimes it is safer to sleep on the street than some homeless shelters we came across”, suggests Alex Black, a former homeless youth. These shelters can be horrifying to the point that many teens, including Alex, run away. Society looks down on the homeless, creating a barrier surrounding our social structure, placing them at the bottom. Many people in our community believe it is not their place to help, some just are selfish or look the other way and keep on walking.“Whoever closes

    Read More

  • Homeless in The United States

    1319 Words  | 3 Pages

    Homelessness is a problem that happens in many different countries around the world. Definitions of homelessness are defined in different meanings by different people. However, the Stewart B. McKinney Act defines a homeless person as “ one who lacks a fixed permanent nighttime residence or whose nighttime residence is a temporary shelter, welfare hotel, or any public or private place not designed as sleeping accommodations for human beings” (McNamara 1025). It is impossible to find out exactly the number of homeless; however, the researchers can do a study to estimate that number. Based on different statistics from different researchers, the homeless population in America has been increasing as “an alarming rate” (Markos and Lima). Therefore, even though America is one of the most powerful countries in the world, homelessness, which has many common causes, has always been a big problem in society.

    Read More

  • Chronic Homelessness in the United States: An Unaddressed Crisis

    1682 Words  | 4 Pages

    Homelessness in the United States has been an important subject that the government needs to turn its attention to. There has been announced in the news that the number of the homeless people in many major cities in the United States has been increasing enormously. According to United States Interagency Council on Homelessness reported that there was an estimation of 83,170 individuals have experienced chronic homelessness on the streets of the United States’ streets and shelters on only a single night of January 2015, which is a small decrease of only 1% from the previous year (People Experiencing Chronic Homelessness, n.d.). The United States must consider this subject that most of the people underestimate it and not pay attention

    Read More

  • Runaway and Homeless Youth

    1898 Words  | 4 Pages

    Homeless Youth: Characteristics, Contributing Factors, and Service Options. Journal Of Human Behavior In The Social Environment, 20(2), 193-217. doi:10.1080/10911350903269831

    Read More

  • Homelessness in America

    2035 Words  | 5 Pages

    According to Streetwise of Street News Services (2010), the first reported instances of homelessness dates as far back as 1640, in some of the larger cities in the original 13 colonies. At this time, there were wars being fought between settlers and Native Americans, and people were left with no shelter in both sides (Street News Service, 2010). Later, the industrial revolution caused more homelessness, industrial accidents left many former hard-working families with a dead provider, or with severe disabilities, and then the economy entered a recession in the same time period (Street News Service, 2010). Wars always left a large number of veterans homeless. Later, in 1927, there was an astronomical flood along the Mississippi River, across multiple state, leaving about 1.3 million people without a home (Street News Service, 2010). Natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco, the Asian tsunami in 2004, and the earthquake early this year in Japan are still a major cause of homelessness.

    Read More

  • Homelessness In Canada

    1199 Words  | 3 Pages

    We need to ask our selves what causes homelessness, why are so many youth involved with homelessness and what can we change so that the homelessness problem in Canada lessens? Many people put the issue of homelessness aside because there are many programs that people can go to so that they can get help but not all people have the capability to push themselves to turn their lives around. The basic needs in your own life like food, water, personal hygiene and a place to sleep are something that the homeless do not have. Everywhere we look nowadays you see homeless people including in the streets of Toronto, which is said to have one the highest homelessness populations in Canada.

    Read More

  • Homelessness in America

    1171 Words  | 3 Pages

    In fiscal year 2006, the HUD, Department of Housing and Urban Development, was presented a budget by the Bush Administration consisting of $528.5 billion for homeless programs (Romeo 1). The problem of homelessness and extreme poverty is not a new occurrence; but in past years more extreme measures have been taken to combat the issue as more people become homeless. Expensive social programs and housing developments for the homeless have been created to help battle the increasing issue. Homelessness is an expensive problem that will never end; furthermore, the condition of homeless people in America is affected by the type of education they receive, the state of the economy, and the amount of funds that are available to house and feed them.

    Read More

  • The Social Issue Of Homelessness

    894 Words  | 2 Pages

    Homelessness is a social issue that has been overlooked for too long. It can be observed in many states worldwide. The rising population of homeless people affects those characterized as homeless, their families subjected to the lifestyle, and the communities where homelessness exists. There are many solutions but only a few will be discussed. Improving existing shelters and building new shelters are general solutions. More in depth solutions within the shelters include programs that assist the homeless with opportunities for re-entry into the community. I would first like to discuss reasons why this issue should be looked into and conclude with recommendations.

    Read More

  • Foster Care And Homelessness Essay

    477 Words  | 1 Pages

    Based off the attention from modern media, youth homelessness has been on an unfortunate upslope in the United States within the past decade. Various factors tie into why this issue is becoming more prominent such as low income households being unable to afford children, LGBT youth rejection, and domestic abuse leading to children leaving home. Now, vagrancy has a severely negative impact on the development of young people as it inhibits them from developing academically, socially, and mentally and can also expose them to diseases and potentially various types of abuse, such as sexual and substance abuse. This is an issue that should be addressed, for the rising generations are America’s future, and so investing in the overall well-being of the

    Read More

  • Causes Of Homelessness Essay

    894 Words  | 2 Pages

    An issue that has been affecting the local communities in the Untied Stated is homelessness. How do we prevent this epidemic and how do we come to the aid of those who need help. It also happens to be an issue with our younger generations. For some families in parts of the United States they get laid off or are not able to find jobs and become homeless creating problems for their children and their futures. It is a terrible situation to be in when it is happening to students. Sometimes it is hard to spot out these kids who are struggling. There is not much research done on homelessness based on where one would go when it first happens but these young people are doing what they can for themselves to survive. There are signs that students may be homeless but most do not bring up the issue because they are ashamed of what they have to go through. Research is always done about the numbers and statistics of homeless students and there are some methods to escape the streets but the number still continues to grow. Solutions to help eliminate homeless students in a community.

    Read More

  • Solutions To Homelessness

    1837 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about Youth Homelessness In The United States

Open Document