1. Jessy Havens
Ms.Cronic
5/14/2015
Ap lit
Youth Homelessness: The new crisis
Homelessness is on the rise among America's youth. The report titled ​America’s youngest
outcast​ has issued a statement that 1 child out of 30 is experiencing homelessness. With these
staggering statistics, it not only raises the question of what is causing the increase in homeless
youth but also what are some of the possible solutions for such an epidemic.
Youth homelessness is a tricky problem to begin with as the exact number of homeless youth is
difficult to calculate: they are in a since undercounted in the data as they are considered
unaccompanied youth and are not connected to shelters and other homeless services. The drastic
increase of homelessness among America’s youth could be the result of LGBT youth coming out
to their families at a much earlier age than before. They are coming out at 13 or 14 instead of 18
or 20. Which according to The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness “ coming out
earlier in some ways is a good thing, it means they are getting social cues that it is okay to be
gay, but they are not yet old enough to be able to live independently and they face rejection by
parents and families as well as emotional and/or physical abuse at school.” That concluded that
while coming out at an earlier age might be a viable option for some, for others doing so could
result in that child being abused or being removed from their household which in turn increases
the population of homeless youth. Because even though Society’s view on homosexuality and
transexuality has become more socially tolorant, that does not mean every household is. The
Center of American Progress reports that “ 20­40% of homeless youth identifies as being apart of
the LGBTQA community.” That is insane, that is an absolutely insane statistic, that means for

2. every 10 LGBT youth at least 2­4 are either homeless or at high risk of becoming homeless. It is
almost comical that we teach our youth to be honest with their parents and that their love is
unconditional but it looks like there are some conditions to parental love and being too honest
could make you homeless. The Center of American Progress also issued a statement that “the
average age that lesbian and gay youth in New York become homeless is 14.4 while 13.5 is the
average age transgender youth in the same state become homeless. The fact that it is legal to kick
out a 13­14 year old child is sickening for the fact that it is nearly impossible for them to
financially support themselves. The Center of American Progress has issued some issued some
statistics on the risks of youth homelessness among the LGBT community. “ 58% of homeless
youth will report being sexually assaulted, 44% of LGBT youth will turn to prostitution as a way
to provide for themselves, 42% will turn to substance abuse, and 62% of homeless LGBT will
attempt suicide.” The fact that kicking out your underage child is a viable option is disgusting
but I guess for some parents it is reassuring to know that if your child turns out to be socially
unacceptable, by their standards, they can throw them away and act as if they never existed
without the fear of legal repercussions. Thankfully there are organisations out there to help those
in need like the Trevor Project. The Trevor lifeline is the only nationwide, around­the­clock
crisis and suicide prevention helpline for LGBT youth in America. According to the Trevor
Project's website “ The lifeline is a free confidential service that offers hope and someone to talk
to 24/7. the Lifeline’s trained counselors​ listen and understand without judgment and can refer callers
to supportive local organizations and groups; this information is also available on the project's website.”
This service is leading the way in not only cutting down the percentage of LGBT youth suicides but also
providing them other services which could save their lives from the hardships of homelessness and all the
other things that come with that.

3. The economic recession has had a drastic impact on American families as prices for basic necessities
rise and household incomes do not a lot of families are feeling the strain of not being able to provide for
their children. According to the National Center on Family Homelessness “ the number of homeless
children in America reached nearly 2.5 million last year, an all­time high. From 2012 to 2013, the number
of homeless children jumped by 8% with 13 states and the District of Columbia seeing a spike of 10% or
more.” With the rise of unemployment and the major cut on social services the number of homeless
families has dramatically increased and there is a lack of programs specifically catered to families hit by
the recession. The ​Washington post ​reports that people struggling with mental illness, substance abuse, or
other chronic problems have been the focus of government homelessness resources.” The programs
available that are already set in place should not be removed but replaced with a system that caters to a
larger demographic or have sub­divisions or programs with a specific demographic in mind. So there
homeless shelters for people suffering from substance abuse but also have a services specifically designed
to assist families with children so all parties involved could receive the appropriate assistance they need.
Thankfully there are some programs designed to help that are funded by the Emergency Solutions Grants
program which according to their website “the program is designed to address a broad range of problems
and needs of homeless families and individuals.” Though the program is not catered specifically towards
the homeless youth, these programs are helping house displaced families across america.
Youth homelessness is not a problem that has an easy solution, but it is one that needs to become more
of a discussed issue because it is not a problem that is just going to go away on its own. there needs to be
more ways we can help our youth, especially our LGBT youth because they are the most at risk. A child
needs to be concerned about school and other kid stuff. They should not have to worry about where their
going to sleep at night or how they are going to feed themselves. America as a country needs to wake up
and realise that youth homelessness is a problem that needs a solution yesterday, not next year.