Articles for the Topic "Youth"

A Transition without Boundaries: Thoughts on Homeless Youth

2008-04-07T10:46:59

Rachel Witwer is a Program Manager at the Drop-In Center in New Orleans, LA. HRC’s Katie Volk talked with her about the many transitions faced by youth who are homeless.

A New Orleans Drop-In Center Rebuilds: A Conversation with Edward Bonin, MN, FNP-C, RN

2007-08-22T01:36:06

If you ask Edward Bonin, Director of the Tulane University Drop-In Center in New Orleans, LA to tell you about his program, he’ll say he’d rather tell you what it was like before Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. In spite of this, it is clear that the Drop-In Center still has much to be proud of as the staff has shown immense flexibility and a deep commitment to serving homeless youth in the New Orleans community.

Youth on Fire: A Bright Spot in Cambridge, MA

2007-08-22T01:33:14

Youth on Fire is one of many programs developed by Cambridge Cares about AIDS, an organization born out of the Cambridge Health Department with the mission of responding to the HIV/AIDS epidemic with services for marginalized individuals.

Youth Homelessness and the Psychiatric System: A Conversation with Fritz Flohr

2007-08-22T01:39:53

The HRC's Kristen Paquette sits down with Fritz Flohz, a youth whom managed to overcome his battle with psychiatric disorders.

Homeless Youth NCH Fact Sheet #13

2007-09-16T08:28:03

This fact sheet discusses the dimensions, causes, and consequences of homelessness among youth. An overview of program and policy issues and a list of resources for further study are also provided. (NCH)

Culture and Trauma Brief: Trauma Among Homeless Youth

2007-08-22T01:48:21

This brief brings to life the issues facing youth who are homeless and the implications for providing trauma-informed, culturally competent services.

Homeless Young Adults Ages 18-24: Examining Service Delivery Adaptations

2007-04-16T10:03:55

This report is organized around four main topics: health care, housing, education and employment, and social support. In sections devoted to each of these topics, brief descriptions of service barriers are followed by recommended short and long-term strategies for overcoming them. Young adults in the U.S. are uniquely vulnerable to homelessness. Estimated numbers of young adults who experience an episode of homelessness each year range from approximately 750,000 to 2 million, and are believed to be increasing. This is a problem facing both young individuals and families. The predominant theme of this report is that late adolescence/early adulthood is a developmental stage during which appropriate supports can make an especially important difference. (Authors)

Homeless Youth in the United States: Recent Research Findings and Intervention Approaches

2008-03-11T11:20:57

In this paper, the authors cite research indicating that youth may be the single age group most at risk of becoming homeless, yet comparatively little research has been done in the past decade on this vulnerable population. Some important progress has been made, including longitudinal studies on youth “aging out” of foster care. After reviewing the characteristics of homeless youth, the authors review recent research findings on the homeless youth population and interventions developed to address their housing and service needs. These include interventions directed at youth themselves (education, employment, social skills training) as well as family-focused strategies. The authors conclude with future directions for both research and practice. (Authors)

Juvenile Runaways: Problem Specific Guide Series No. 37.

2007-08-22T02:21:32

The Problem-Specific Guides summarize knowledge about how police can reduce the harm caused by specific crime and disorder problems. They are guides to prevention and to improving the overall response to incidents, not to investigating offenses or handling specific incidents. The guides are written for police - of whatever rank or assignment - who must address the specific problem the guides cover. (Author)

Quick Tips: Working with LGBTQI2-S Youth who are Homeless

2008-06-02T11:33:15

Youth who are homeless and identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, Transgender, Questioning, Intersex, or Two-Spirited ( LGBTQI2-S ) utilize many types of services. It is important that all agencies take steps to ensure that services are accessible, culturally competent, and welcoming.

Who are LGBTQI2-S Homeless Youth?

2008-06-02T11:16:39

The HRC's Rachael Kenney provides information about who LGBTQI2-S Homeless Youth are.

Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Homeless Youth: An Eight-City Public Health Perspective

2008-06-02T09:39:35

This article reports on results of a one-day public health survey conducted in six states by homeless youth providers to measure and compare risk factors between lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) homeless youth and non-LGB homeless youth. This article intends to inform the child welfare field on existing gaps in services and areas where more training and technical support is necessary in providing services to homeless LGB youth. The findings point to substantial differences within the homeless youth sample and demonstrate that in addition to the public health risks young people face merely by being homeless, the risks are exacerbated for those who self-identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual. The article informs child welfare providers and policymakers about the substantial vulnerability of LGB youth beyond that of non-LGB homeless youth and the need to fund programming, training, technical assistance and further research to specifically respond to the complex needs of this population. (authors)

Creating a Safe Space for GLBTQ Youth: A Toolkit

2008-04-16T10:58:39

This toolkit, produced by Girl's Best Friend Foundation and Advocates for Youth, is meant to aid workers in creating a welcoming and open environment for GLBTQ individuals in organizations that are not specifically designed for this population.

Advocating for the Special Education Needs of Homeless and Mobile Students: A Guide to Rights and Resources

2009-04-23T01:27:39

This booklet provides legal resources for students with special needs who are homeless or highly mobile. (Authors)

Correlates of Resilience in Homeless Adolescents

2007-11-30T07:32:44

Purposes: To (a) describe reasons adolescents give for their homelessness, (b) explore relationships among resilience and selected risk and protective factors, (c) identify differences in risk and protective factors by gender and sexual orientation, and (d) determine best predictors of resilience. Design: A descriptive and exploratory correlational design was used to collect and analyze data from a convenience sample of 59 homeless adolescents who sought health and social services from a community street-outreach project in central Texas in 1998. Methods: A paper and pencil survey consisting of valid measures (Resilience Scale, UCLA-Revised Loneliness Scale, Beck Hopelessness Scale, Social Connectedness Scale, and Death-Related Attitude Schedule) was administered in a street-outreach setting. Findings: Nearly half the sample (47%) reported a history of sexual abuse and 36% self-identified as gay, lesbian, or bisexual in orientation. Over half (51%) were thrown out of their homes by their parents, 37% left home because their parents disapproved of their alcohol or drug use, and nearly one-third left home because parents sexually abused them. Lack of resilience was ignificantly related to hopelessness, loneliness, life-threatening behaviors, and connectedness, but not to gender or sexual orientation. Hopelessness and connectedness explained 50% of the variance in resilience. Conclusions: Participants who perceived themselves as resilient, although disconnected from other people, were less lonely, less hopeless, and engaged in fewer life-threatening behaviors than were those who perceived themselves as not being resilient. They survived by adapting to street life and by becoming overly self-reliant. Findings may be useful in planning interventions to promote health and well-being in this vulnerable population. (Authors)

Creating Solutions to End Youth Homelessness: Federal Policy Campaign to House 50,000 Homeless Youth

2010-03-01T01:10:44

In this February 2009 brief, the National Alliance to End Homelessness proposes a new federal youth housing campaign to target funding and interventions in youth housing programs to better meet the unique developmental needs of unaccompanied homeless youth.

Discrimination and exiting homelessness among homeless adolescents

2009-01-26T11:09:11

The discrimination experiences of homeless adolescents are examined in this article. The discrimination being reviewed was related to being gay, lesbian, or bisexual and exiting homelessness.

How to be a Friend of Children and Youth

2008-12-22T11:20:29

The Child Welfare League of America has compiled a list of different ways to become involved with protecting the development of children. The information ranges from interacting with a child to assuring best policies for underprivileged children to how to find a place to volunteer in your local community. Become an active participant in assuring the safety of our youth. (HRC)

National Runaway Prevention Month: Community Action Kit

2008-11-11T01:04:22

November is National Runaway Prevention Month. It is a public education campaign spearheaded by the National Runaway Switchboard (NRS) and the National Network for Youth (NN4Y) to: increase the awareness of the issues facing runaways; and educate the public about the solutions and the role they can play in preventing youth from running away. The Community Action Kit has been designed with the goal of assisting local community members in planning, conducting, and promoting community projects and activities to be held during National Runaway Prevention Month. The action kit includes event planning information, suggested activities, and examples to facilitate the implementation of the activities. (Authors)

On the Prevalence of Running Away from Home

2010-05-17T11:07:23

This paper follows a nationally representative sample of 12-year olds through their 18th birthday to estimate the percentage of youth who ever run away from home, the number of times they ran away, and the age at which they first run away. Gender and race-ethnicity differences are estimated. These estimates, not found elsewhere, have implications for serving the runaway and homeless youth population.

Relationships Beget Relationships: Why Understanding Attachment Theory is Crucial to Program Design for Homeless Youth

2010-08-25T08:22:29

In this report, the author takes a new approach to working with homeless youth, seeking to understand their psychological needs through the lens of attachment theory. The author provides his conjectures and supplements them with case evidence from three programs implementing attachment theory in their design and work with homeless youth.

The Maslow Project: Meeting the Needs of Homeless Students

2009-10-09T05:45:21

Oregon’s population of students who are homeless has increased by 14 percent since the 2008-2009 school year. Across the state, greater numbers of students are in need of supportive services. Medford, Oregon has the second highest ratio of homeless students in the state. It also has the Maslow Project, a highly successful, award-winning model of service delivery and outreach for homeless students and their families. Mary Ferrell, the project’s founder, shares how they are trying to buffer the impact of the economic downturn on children and youth experiencing homelessness.

What Child Welfare Advocates Can Do for Unaccompanied Youth

2009-02-13T11:01:34

This fact sheet from the Legal Center on Foster Care and Education explains basic information about unaccompanied youth and provides suggestions for how child welfare advocates can support unaccompanied youth, even without taking them into custody.

Why They Run

2010-05-17T11:15:57

Why They Run: An in-depth look at America’s runaway youth, presented by the National Runaway Switchboard, sheds new light on the runaway problem in America and begins to fill in the gaps of what is already known and what can be done based on new research. (Authors)