TEENAGE HOMELESSNESS

ONA KELLER

DEFINITION

No consistent, safe place to live

STATISTICS• Estimates range from 1.6 – 2.8 million homeless teens

• Equal numbers of males and females

• Most homeless youth are between the ages of 15-17

• 10% pregnant

• 20-40% LGBT

• 50% high school dropouts

CAUSES

Family problems

Economic problems

Residential instability

LGBT HOMELESS TEENAGERS

LGBT HOMELESS TEENAGERS

Higher risk for:

• Drug addiction

• Prostitution

• Sexual and physical abuse

• Depression

Need LGBT-specific outreach and shelters

• Access to information is key

• Building trust takes time

• Offer a range of services

OUTREACH

RESOURCES• Forty to None Project: www.FortyToNone.org

• National Runaway Safeline: 1-800-RUNAWAY, www.1800runaway.org

• National Coalition for the Homeless: www.NationalHomeless.org

• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Homelessness Resource Center: http://homeless.samhsa.gov

REFERENCESAviles de Bradley, A. (2011). Unaccompanied homeless youth: Intersections of homelessness, school experiences and educational policy. Child and Youth Services, 32, 155-172.

National Coalition for the Homeless (2008). Homeless Youth. Retrieved from: http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/youth.html

National Runaway Switchboard. (2010). Why They Run. Retrieved from: http://www.1800runaway.org/learn/research/why_they_run/

report/

Oliveira, J., & Burke, P. (2009). Lost in the shuffle: Culture of homeless adolescents. Pediatric Nursing, 35(3), 154-161.

Schwartz, M., Sorensen, H., Ammerman, S., & Bard, E. (2008). Exploring the relationship between homelessness and delinquency: A

snapshot of a group of homeless youth in San Jose, California. Child Adolescent Social Work, 25, 255-269.

Whitbeck, L., Chen, X., Hoyt, D., Tyler, K., & Johnson, K. (2004). Mental disorder, subsistence strategies, and victimization among gay, lesbian, and bisexual homeless and runaway adolescents. The Journal of Sex Research, 41(4), 329-342.