In connection with my book presentation last week that talked about the \u201cnew homeless\u201d being\u00a0 more youthful and this weekend\u2019s reading where it talked about how homeless youth work with shelters, I decided to dive more into the topic of homeless youth in the U.S..<\/p>\n
This article goes over some topics that we have already discussed in class. For example, how the homeless population is starting to have a makeup of more younger people in their 20s rather than the \u201cold homeless\u201d who have usually been in their mid 50s. It also talks about how homeless youth usually crash on their friends\u2019 couches or hang out on the streets. The article empathized that, \u201cmostly, they just blend in.\u201d<\/p>\n
New York is holding their annual homeless count and following along the same criteria that we learned about in class when doing their count. However, many homeless people are \u201coverlooked.\u201d The article also talks about how failure to make an accurate homeless count results in, \u201cfewer social services for people at particular risk of being drawn into prostitution and cycling into long-term homelessness, according to organizations that specialize in helping young homeless people.\u201d<\/p>\n
The city has made efforts to add more beds to shelters, yet youth shelters find themselves not having enough resources for homeless youth. The problem is how \u201chomeless\u201d is defined. We\u2019ve learned in class the definition that counters use to count how many homeless people there are and it\u2019s very specific. Because homeless youth often sleep at their friend\u2019s place or extended family, they are \u201ctechnically homeless\u201d but can not be counted if they are not sleeping on the streets.<\/p>\n
Like the article said it\u2019s important to count homeless youth in order to get more help for them and get more services and resources to help them. Failure to count homeless youth leaves them in the shadows and allows society to turn a blind eye to them. We fail as a society if we don\u2019t acknowledge their struggles as well.<\/p>\n
http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/02\/06\/nyregion\/young-and-homeless-in-new-york-overlooked-and-underserved.html?_r=0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In connection with my book presentation last week that talked about the \u201cnew homeless\u201d being\u00a0 more youthful and this weekend\u2019s reading where it talked about how homeless youth work with shelters, I decided to dive more into the topic of homeless youth in the U.S.. This article goes over some topics that we have already … Continue reading Homeless Young People of New York, Overlooked and Underserved<\/span>