Homeless Adolescents: Identification, Outreach, Engagement, Housing, and Stabilization

Abstract

Across any 12-month period, more than 4.1 million young people in the USA, ages 13–25, experience some form of homelessness; on a single night, 41,000 unaccompanied youth under age 25 are homeless in communities across the USA, some staying in shelters and others living on the streets. Poverty, family homelessness, childhood maltreatment, and involvement in foster care and juvenile justice systems place youth at increased risk for homelessness; 19% of youth experience homelessness within 2 years of leaving foster care. Homelessness disproportionately affects African-American, Latino, and Native American (Indigenous) youth and those who identify as LGBTQ. While many youth experiencing homelessness can successfully return to their families of origin or reestablish connections with family members, others acculturate to the streets and experience increased health risks associated with prolonged homelessness. Targeted outreach is needed to engage youth and link them to services, and service environments need to be welcoming of homeless youth, safe and accepting. Youth need a range of housing options to stabilize. Interventions should target risk and protective factors and utilize positive youth development approaches and trauma-informed care to engage youth; build their skills and competencies; and promote their growth, healing, and well-being. Coordination among service providers and across systems, utilization of evidence-based interventions and data-driven strategies, and rigorous monitoring and evaluation are required to end youth homelessness.