Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

This article presents a non-experimental, exploratory study of the experiences of unaccompanied youth experiencing homelessness in Washington, DC. Using a community-based participatory action approach, researchers conducted open-ended survey interviews with 57 participants, all of whom identified as persons of color. Findings offer insight on where youth stay most evenings, what precipitated youths’ most recent experience of homelessness, strategies used to cope or survive on the streets, primary service needs, and advice from youth experiencing homelessness. The youth’s family experiences were an important factor in their experiences of homelessness. Implications for social work practice, policy, and research are discussed.

Keywords

homelessness and housing adolescents/young adulthood transition age youth poverty community-based participatory action

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bender

K. A.

DePrince

Begun

Hathaway

Haffejee

Schau

(2018). Enhancing risk of detection among homeless youth: A randomized clinical trial of a promising intervention. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 33, 2945–2967. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260516633208

Bender

K. A.

Thompson

S. J.

Ferguson

K. M.

Yoder

J. R.

Kern

(2014). Trauma among street-involved youth. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 22(1), 53–64. https://doi.org/10.1177/1063426613476093

Bender

K. A.

Thompson

S. J.

McManus

Lantry

Flynn

P. M.

(2007). Capacity for survival: Exploring strengths of homeless street youth. Child and Youth Care Forum, 36, 25–42. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-006-9029-4

Bender

K. A.

Yang

Ferguson

Thompson

(2015). Experiences and needs of homeless youth with a history of foster care. Children and Youth Services Review, 55, 222–231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2015.06.007

Berman

L. R.

Snow

R. C.

Moorman

J. D.

Policicchio

Geronimus

A. T.

Padilla

M. B.

(2015). Parental loss and residential instability: The impact on young women from low-income households in Detroit. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24, 416–426. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-013-9852-9

Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness. (2018, March 29). Homeless youth census 2017: District of Columbia. https://ggwash.org/files/2017+-+Homeless+Youth+Census+-+Executive+Summary_(1).pdf

Coughling

C. G.

Sandel

Stewart

A. M.

(2020). Homelessness, children, and covid-19: A looming crisis. Pediatrics Perspective, 147(2), 7–9. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2020-1408

Crutchfield

R. M.

Chambers

R. M.

Duffield

(2016). Jumping through the hoops to get financial aid for college students who are homeless: Policy analysis of the college cost reduction and access act of 2007. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services, 97(3), 191–199. https://doi.org/10.1606/1044-3894.2016.97.25

District of Columbia Interagency Council on Homelessness. (2017, May). Solid foundations DC: Strategic plan to prevent and end youth homelessness. https://ich.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/ich/page_content/attachments/Solid%20Foundations%20DC%20_web%201.5.pdf

10.

Edidin

J. P.

Ganim

Hunter

S. J.

Karnik

N. S.

(2012). The mental and physical health of homeless youth: A literature review. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 43(3), 354–375. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-011-0270-1

11.

Ferguson

K. M.

Bender

Thompson

S. J.

Maccio

E. M.

Pollio

(2012). Employment status and income generation among homeless young adults: Results from a five-city, mixed-methods study. Youth & Society, 44(3), 385–407. https://doi.org/10.1177/0044118X11402851

12.

Ferguson

K. M.

Bender

Thompson

S. J.

Xie

Pollio

(2012). Exploration of arrest activity among homeless young adults in four U.S. cities. Social Work Research, 36(3), 233–238. https://doi.org/10.1093/swr/svs023

13.

Gabriel

M. G.

Brown

Leon

Outley

(2021). Power and social control of your during the covid-19 pandemic. Leisure Sciences, 43, 240–246. https://doi.org/10.1080/01490400.2020.1774008

14.

Jennings

Shore

Strohminger

Allison

(2015). Entrepreneurial development for U.S. minority homeless and unstably housed youth: A qualitative inquiry on value, barriers, and impact on health. Children and Youth Services Review, 49, 39–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2014.12.018

15.

John Burton Advocates for Youth. (2020, April). Risk factors for youth experiencing homelessness during COVID-19. https://www.jbaforyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Risk-Factors-for-Youth-Experiencing-Homelessness-During-COVID-19-Crisis-April-2020.pdf

16.

Julien

(2012). Survey research. In Given

L. M.

(Ed.), The SAGE encyclopedia of qualitative research methods (pp. 846–848). SAGE.

17.

Keuroghlian

A. S.

Shtasel

Bassuk

E. L.

(2014). Out on the street: A public health and policy agenda for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth who are homeless. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 84(1), 66–72. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0098852

18.

Maccio

E. M.

Ferguson

K. M.

(2016). Services to LGBTQ runaway and homeless youth: Gaps and recommendations. Children and Youth Services Review, 63, 47–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2016.02.008

19.

Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. (2019, May 10). Homelessness in metropolitan Washington: Results and analysis from the 2017 point-in-time (PIT) count of persons experiencing homelessness, 2017. https://www.mwcog.org/documents/homelessnessreport/

20.

Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. (2020, June). Homelessness in metropolitan Washington: Results and analysis from the annual point-in-time (PIT) count of persons experiencing homelessness. https://www.mwcog.org/documents/2020/06/10/homelessness-in-metropolitan-washington-results-and-analysis-from-the-annual-point-in-time-pit-count-of-homeless-persons-featured-publications-homelessness/

21.

National Alliance to End Homelessness. (2015, December 29). Ending homelessness for unaccompanied youth age 18-24. https://endhomelessness.org/resource/ending-homelessness-for-unaccompanied-youth-age-18-24/

22.

National Low Income Housing Coalition. (2019, March). The gap: A shortage of affordable homes. https://reports.nlihc.org/sites/default/files/gap/Gap-Report_2019.pdf

23.

Pedersen

E. R.

Tucker

J. S.

Kovalchik

S. A.

(2016). Facilitators and barriers of drop-in center use among homeless youth. Journal of Adolescent Health, 59(2), 144–153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2016.03.035

24.

Petering

Rhoades

Rice

Yoshioka-Maxwell

(2017). Bidirectional intimate partner violence and drug use among homeless youth. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 32(14), 2209–2217. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260515593298

25.

Rahman

M. A.

(2015). The education of district of Columbia black homeless youth: Limits and possibilities. The Journal of Negro Education, 84(3), 379–400. https://doi.org/10.7709/jnegroeducation.84.3.0379

26.

Rahman

M. A.

Turner

J. F.

Elbedour

(2015). The U.S. homeless student population: Homeless youth education, review of research classifications and typologies, and the U.S. federal legislative response. Child & Youth Care Forum, 44(5), 687–709. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-014-9298-2

27.

Schmitz

R. M.

Tyler

K. A.

(2015). Homeless young people’s experiences of caregiver rejection. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24, 2598–2609. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-014-0062-x

28.

Silliman Cohen

R. I.

Bosk

E. A

. (2020). Vulnerable youth and the Covid-19 pandemic. Pediatrics, 146(1), Article e20201306. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2020-1306

29.

Slesnick

Zhang

Yilmazer

(2018). Employment and other income sources among homeless youth. Journal of Primary Prevention, 39(3), 247–262. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-018-0511-1

30.

Tam

C. C.

Freisthler

Curry

S. R.

Abrams

L. S.

(2016). Where are the beds? housing locations for transition age youth exiting public systems. Families in Society, 97(2), 111–119. https://doi.org/10.1606/1044-3894.2016.97.12

31.

Thompson

R. G.

Hasin

D. S.

(2011). Cigarette, marijuana, and alcohol use and prior drug treatment among newly homeless young adults in New York City: Relationship to a history of foster care. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 117(1), 66–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2010.12.020

32.

Thompson

S. J.

Ryan

T. N.

Montgomery

K. L.

Lippman

A. D. P.

Bender

Ferguson

(2016). Perceptions of resiliency and coping: Homeless young adults speak out. Youth & Society, 48(1), 58–76. https://doi.org/10.1177/0044118X13477427

33.

Toolis

E. E.

Hammack

P. L.

(2015). The lived experience of homeless youth: A narrative approach. Qualitative Psychology, 21(1), 50–68. https://doi.org/10.1037/qup0000019

34.

Trawver

K. R.

Aguiniga

D. M.

(2016). Unsheltered homeless youth point-in-time count and outreach: Opportunities for university-community collaboration (practice note). Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services, 97(3), 259–264. https://doi.org/10.1606/1044-3894.2016.97.30

35.

Tyler

K. A.

Beal

M. R.

(2010). The high-risk environment of homeless young adults: Consequences for physical and sexual victimization. Violence and Victims, 25(1), 101–115. https://doi.org/10.1891/0886-6708.25.1.101

36.

Tyler

K. A.

Melander

L. A.

(2010). Foster care placement, poor parenting, and negative outcomes among homeless young adults. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 19(6), 787–794. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-010-9370-y

37.

Tyler

K. A.

Schmitz

R. M.

(2013). Family histories and multiple transitions among homeless young adults: Pathways to homelessness. Children and Youth Services Review, 35(10), 1719–1726. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2013.07.014

38.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Community Planning and Development. (2018, December). The 2018 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress. Part 1 point-in-time estimates of homelessness. https://www.hudexchange.info/resources/documents/2018-AHAR-Part-1.pdf

39.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Community Planning and Development. (2020, January). The 2019 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress. Part point-in-time estimates of homelessness. https://files.hudexchange.info/resources/documents/2019-AHAR-Part-1.pdf

40.

U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. (2015a, June). Opening doors: Federal strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness. https://www.usich.gov/resources/uploads/asset_library/USICH_OpeningDoors_Amendment2015_FINAL.pdf

41.

U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. (2015b, September). Preventing and ending youth homelessness: A coordinated community response. https://www.usich.gov/tools-for-action/coordinated-community-response-to-youth-homelessness

42.

U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. (2013, February). Framework to end youth homelessness: A resource text for dialogue and action. https://www.usich.gov/resources/uploads/asset_library/USICH_Youth_Framework__FINAL_02_13_131.pdf

43.

U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. (2018, February). Criteria and benchmarks for achieving the goal of ending youth homelessness. https://www.usich.gov/resources/uploads/asset_library/Youth-Criteria-and-Benchmarks-revised-Feb-2018.pdf

44.

Wachter

Thompson

S. J.

Bender

Ferguson

(2015). Predictors of multiple arrests among homeless young adults: Gender differences. Children and Youth Services Review, 49, 32–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2014.12.017

45.

Wenzel

Holloway

Golinelli

Ewing

Bowman

Tucker

(2012). Social networks of homeless youth in emerging adulthood. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 41, 561–571. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-011-9709-8

46.

Zerger

Strehlow

A. J.

Gundlapalli

A. V.

(2008). Homeless young adults and behavioral health: An overview. American Behavioral Scientist, 51(6), 824–841. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764207311990

Understanding Young Adults Experiencing Homelessness Through a Qualitative Approach

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References