Youth Homelessness

1. Runaway and homeless youth, no matter their situation, deserve a voice.
2. Every young person deserves easy access to a shelter and/or counseling if they are in need.
3. Society must ensure that every young person has a safe environment to grow and develop into productive citizens.
4. Programs should be set nationally provide a safe haven, counseling and outreach services.
5. These programs should be 24 hours per day, without charge, to assist youth in crisis with a goal of reuniting families.
6. Counseling should continue for both teens and parents after they leave the shelter. Sometimes it takes time to learn to stop yelling and start listening.
7. This is a huge problem, and no one seems to know about it. There are amazing ideas floating around for programs and services, now all we have to do is teach everyone about the problem and what they can do and organize ourselves to help put an end to this.

Human Services - Youth Development

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It's almost midnight. Your friends have gone home and you are left walking the street alone. You can't go home – or won't – because of the terrible fight you had with those two people who call themselves parents. They have been yelling at you for months now; you can't do anything right. School is a waste; you are failing most subjects and giving up hope. Maybe you just ought to runaway.

This is a familiar tale told by many of the teenagers who live on the streets everywhere.

An estimated 1.7 to 2.8 million youth experience a runaway or homeless situation each year. This figure does not include the young adult population -- ages 18 to 24 -- that struggles to find a home.


Youth homelessness can be limited through increased awareness of the issue and supporting nationally recognized programs that address the issue.