Youth Homelessness is a National Crisis
More than 1.3 million children are homeless at some time each year.i
1 in 8 youth under the age of 18 will leave home and become homeless in need of services.ii
12-17 year olds are at more risk of homelessness than are adults.iii
The Causes of Youth Homelessness Have Not Subsided
In 2004, child protective services agencies reported an estimated 872,000 children to be victims of child abuse or neglectiv and 75,000 California residents are registered sex offenders.v
Prior to leaving home, 43% of youth report being beaten by a caretaker, and one in four have had caretakers request sexual activity.vi
44% of homeless youth report that one or both of their parents had at some point received treatment for alcohol, drug, or psychological problems.vii
Almost half of homeless school-aged children have witnessed domestic violence.viii
Nearly 20,000 youth are emancipated from foster care each year.ix
In California, 65% of emancipated foster youth lack stable housing.x
88,345 people are estimated to be homeless each night in Los Angeles County - the largest homeless population in the nation for any major metropolitan area.xi
In Los Angeles County, an individual earning minimum wage of $6.75/hr must work 108 hours per week, 52 weeks per year to afford the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment.xii
In a city with high poverty districts such as Los Angeles, one in three youth reside in a household that is below the poverty level.xiii
The Results of Youth Homelessness are Devastating
Homeless children suffer twice as many ear infections, have four times the rate of asthma, and have five times more digestive problems.xiv
The number of homeless youth diagnosed with learning disabilities is double the rate of other childrenxv and 75% of runaway and homeless youth have dropped out or will drop out of school.xvi
By the time homeless children are eight years old one in three has a major mental disorder.xvii
The prevalence rate for substance use disorders among homeless youth is 85%.xviii
1/3 of homeless teens have witnessed a stabbing, shooting, rape or murder.xix
Youth Homelessness Begins a Cycle of Chronic Homelessness
1 in 5 homeless adults experienced homelessness during childhood.xx
25% of the adult homeless population report having experienced physical and/or sexual abuse as a child from someone with whom they lived.xxi
1 out of 4 of homeless adults is a former foster care child.xxii
26 % of homeless families are headed by persons ages 17-24.xxiii
Endnotes
i. Ellen L. Bassuk, M.D. and Steven M. Friedman, Facts on Trauma and Homeless Children (Durham, NC and Los Angeles, CA: National Child Traumatic Stress Network, 2005): 1.
ii. C. Raleigh-DuRoff, "Factors that influence adolescents to leave or stay living on the street," Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal 21(6) (2004): 561-?572.
iii. J. Ensign and M. Bell, "Illness experiences of homeless youth," Qualitative Health Research 14(9) (2004): 1239-1254.
iv. U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Child Maltreatment 2004 (Washington, DC: GPO, 2006).
v. Office of the Attorney General, State of California, Meghan's Law - Information on Registered Sex Offenders (2006) .
vi. L.B. Whitbeck, D.R. Hoyt, K.D. Johnson, T.A. Berdahl, S.W. Whiteford, "Midwest Longitudinal Study of Homeless Adolescents," University of Nebraska (2002): 3. Available at: http://www.endhomelessness.org.
vii. P.A. Toro, M.A. Goldstein, and L.L. Rowland, "Preliminary Analyses: Housing, Adolescence and Life Outcomes (HALO) Project," Wayne State University (1998).
viii. Homes for the Homeless & Institute for Children and Poverty, Homeless in America: A Children's Story, Part One (1999): 23.
ix. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Children's Bureau. AFCARS Reports #6-10 (Washington DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2005).
x. Report on the Survey of the Housing Needs of Emancipated Foster/Probation Youth, Prepared at the request of the California Department of Social Services Intro-department Housing Committee by Independent Program Policy Unit - Child and Youth Permanency Branch, June 2002.
xi. Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, The Great Los Angeles Homeless Count (Los Angeles: January 12, 2006).
xii. National Low Income Housing Coalition, Out of Reach 2005 (Washington D.C.: 2005).
xiii. Linda Harris, "What's a Youngster to Do: The Education and Labor Market Plight of Youth in High Poverty Communities," Clearinghouse Review Journal of Poverty Law and Policy (July-Aug 2005): 126-134.
xiv. Bassuk and Friedman, 2.
xv. Better Homes Fund, "America's Homeless Children: New Outcasts" (Newton, MA: 1999).
xvi. National Network for Runaway and Homeless Youth, as reported in the Virginia Child Protection Newsletter, VA Department of Social Services, J. Grayson, ed., 2002.
xvii. Berti, L.C. et al., 244-250.
xviii. N. Slesnick, R. Meyers, M. Meade and D. Segelken, "Bleak and hopeless no more: Engagement of reluctant substance-abusing runaway youth and their families," Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment 19 (2000): 215-222.
xix. Homes for the Homeless, 23.
xx. M.R. Burt, L.Y. Aron, T. Douglas, J. Valente, E. Lee and B. Iwen, Homelessness: Programs and the People They Serve: Technical Report (Washington, DC: Interagency Council on the Homeless, 1999).
xxi. Martha Burt et al., Helping America's Homeless (Washington D.C.: The Urban Institute Press, 2001): 47.
xxii. M.R. Burt, L.Y. Aron, T. Douglas, J. Valente, E. Lee and B. Iwen, Homelessness: Programs and the People They Serve (Washington, DC: Interagency Council on the Homeless, 1999).
xxiii. Burt M, et al., Evaluations of Continuum of Care for Homeless People, Final Report. (Washington D.C.: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research, 2002).
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