About Homeless Youth

Tellman visits the Stepping Stone transitional living program in State College, PA on October 7, 2009.

• The current economic crisis has brought a new level of urgency to the issue of youth homelessness.

• Recent reports suggest an alarming rise in numbers with estimates of over 2 million homeless youth in the United States annually and a 25% increase in students identified as homeless (National Alliance to End Youth Homelessness, 2009; Duffield & Lovell, 2008).

• Although the prevalence of youth homelessness is difficult to measure, researchers estimate that about 5 to 7.7 percent of youth experience homelessness each year.

• 1 out of every 3 homeless people are under the age of 18.

• The majority of homeless and runaway youth are between the ages of 15 and 17, however three out of 100 runaways are under the age of 10, and 11 out of 100 are between the ages of 11 and 13.

• Approximately half of all runaways were physically abused before fleeing home.

• Up to a third of runaways have been forced to perform a sexual act against his/her will.

• Half of all runaways left home because of a disagreement with a parent or guardian.

• A third of all runaways will attempt suicide.

• Homeless youth are up to ten times more likely to have or contract HIV than non-homeless adolescents.

• A tenth of homeless and runaway females are reportedly pregnant.

• This year, one in 260 runaways and homeless youths will die from assault, illness and suicide.

• Risk factors for homelessness among the general adolescent population include growing up in poverty, experiencing housing problems as a child, having a caretaker incarcerated, living with a substance abuser (Bassuk et al., 1997), and having resided in foster care (Winkleby et al., 1992).

• Of adults who had ever been in foster care, 25%-40% report being homeless at some point since exiting care.

• Of runaway and homeless adolescents, 40%-53% report having had lifetime contact with the foster care system (Shapiro, 2004).

• Of the nation’s homeless adults, as many as 3 in 10 have a history of foster care (Roman & Wolfe, 1995).

• Adolescents in foster care often present with: histories of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse (Perrin et al., 2000; Elze et al., 2001); neglect and abandonment (Barth, 1990); family instability and disruption; educational deficits (McMillen et al., 2003); delinquent behaviors (Jonson-Reid & Barth, 2000); substance use (Groze, McMillen, & Haines-Simeon, 1993; Simms, Dubowitz, & Szilagyi, 2000; Dennis, 2004; Thompson & Auslander, 2007); and mental health problems (Trupin et al., 1993; Pilowsky, 1995; Landsverk, 1999; Auslander et al., 2001) – all of which have been individually associated with long-term homelessness among high risk adult populations (e.g., severely and chronically mentally ill).

• Each year, as many as 25,000 adolescents age 15 years and older exit (i.e., are emancipated from, age out of, abscond from) the United States foster care system. Unfortunately, these adolescents generally lack social and financial support and are poorly prepared for employment and independent living (Courtney & Dworsky, 2005). They are more likely than those in the general population to experience mental health and substance use problems, engage in risky sexual behaviors, not complete high school, be unemployed, and be dependent on adult public assistance (Courtney & Dworsky, 2004).

• Understandably, a considerable number of adolescents exiting foster care (e.g., absconders from out-of-home placements, females with children) experience difficulty identifying, securing, and maintaining stable housing arrangements (Park et al., 2004; Park, Metraux, & Culhane, 2005).

• Even in strong economic times, adolescents who exit foster care struggle to live independently. The recent recession in the US economy has made the challenges of life after foster care even more formidable.