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As more youth and young adults experience homelessness annually, it is important for local organizations and government entities to implement solutions that impact young people in need. Three factors that contribute to youth homelessness are family dysfunction, job rejection, and aging out of the foster care system. At Youth Improvement Services we address these roadblocks by providing a consistent support system, a network of community resources, career-readiness training, and life-skills lessons.
Over 50% of young people living in shelters and on the streets report that their parents actually told them to leave, or at least knew they were leaving and didn’t care. Family dysfunction often results in unsafe and unstable environments where young people are eventually displaced after being forced to leave or running away. Making family therapy and other healthy forms of intervention more accessible for young people is a direct approach to reducing family dysfunction and its negative impacts. Many families push young people out of the home due to a lack of communication skills or coping tactics for resolving complex family issues. Young people should be made aware of how to access professionals who can help them to express themselves and advocate on their behalf when the family is in distress. This way, if the child should be asked to leave the home or feels a need to move out, the transition can be handled amicably and without the total loss of family support.
Being unemployed while experiencing homelessness also makes it difficult to exit homelessness, and people experiencing homelessness face a range of barriers to employment. Many young people can't get jobs without a home address and proof of identity. Researchers have estimated unemployment rates among people experiencing homelessness ranging from 57% to over 90% compared to 3.6% for the general United States population. With job rejection being a major contributor to youth homelessness, government funded career-readiness hubs for youth and young adults would be an impactful solution. With a career-readiness center in every county across the country, young people can reduce the likelihood of experiencing homelessness or shorten their experience of homelessness by becoming gainfully employed. The presence of these career-readiness centers would be a symbolic indicator that the community cares about their well-being.
These solutions could also be helpful to young people who have "aged out" of the foster care system and need stability. Every year, 4,500 to 6,500 young people run away from their foster care placement. By making family interventions a mandatory and recurring part of the foster care experience, and providing fostered youth with access to local career-readiness resources, we could reduce the likelihood of foster children becoming homeless young adults.
Our Ultimate Goal is to identify youth who are going to need assistance with transitioning to adulthood, then provide a positive support system to avoid pitfalls that can derail their lives. If you're interested in becoming a part of a greater solution, we'd love to have your support. CLICK HERE to learn more about how to get involved at Youth Improvement Services.