Youth homelessness looks different because it is fluid and hidden. A recent national study found homelessness in 1 out of 30 youth aged 13 to 17 and 1 out of 10 young adults aged 18 to 25. Youth homelessness often remains in the shadows because it may involve couch hopping with friends by a young person who goes from household to household without a choice and is subject to dismissal or exploitation. Young people experiencing homelessness include parents with young children, youth met with rejection after disclosing their sexual orientation or gender identity, and youth who ran away from a foster home or “aged out” of foster care.
One does not have to experience homelessness to understand that it presses hard; the energy and will required to attend to basic survival does not leave much room for vocation, education, or aspiration. It is no wonder that young people experiencing homelessness are less likely to graduate from high school, attend college, and succeed in higher education.
Case workers struggling with increasing youth homelessness say that engaging with youth after they have become homeless and trying to find them permanent homes is a race that they are losing. As one caseworker remarked recently, "The faster we go, the behinder we get."
The formula for “running behind” is simple; as the population continues to increase, immigration explodes, poverty deepens, drug addiction and alcoholism expand, and more and more children are at risk of finding themselves homeless. Caseworkers are now looking to address the causes of youth homelessness by first identifying the risk factors that are present just before a child goes homeless rather than dealing only with finding housing for children who are already homeless.
The big picture caseworkers are beginning to develop is that youth homelessness is the culmination of missed opportunities in families, schools, health systems, and communities. Certain circumstances were found to be the clear precursors of youth homelessness.
Preventing homelessness is no easy feat, but screening and early identification are critical means of diversion. Children, youth, and families interact with various systems that can prevent risk from becoming crisis and crisis from becoming homelessness.
Dedicated caseworkers in Connecticut have recognized the importance of early intervention and have launched a partnership with Head Start to address the predispositions of youth homelessness.
Just as the medical profession concluded some years ago, prevention had a greater impact on the nation's overall health than cures of existing disease, case workers across the country are now juggling two balls in the air at the same time. Not only are they swamped trying to find shelter for already homeless youth, but they are working tirelessly to identify the youth at risk and prevent crisis from becoming homelessness.