Homelessness and Youth.

Homelessness and Youth.

 

Did you know that Oregon has one of the highest rates of unaccompanied, unsheltered youth in the nation, according to a point in time count done by HUD in 2023?  When we think about people experiencing houselessness, how often do we think about the children affected by lack of suitable housing? Most folks (including myself) assume that adults are the ones hit the hardest with these experiences, without realizing so many youths are also living their day to day lives unhoused. 

To make an already difficult situation even more treacherous, many of the houseless youth have no support systems in place, in addition to not having a safe residence to call home, which makes the transition up and out of poverty nearly impossible. The resources offered through government or nonprofit organizations are scarce if they’re even available. In the OPB article (Camhi, 2024) they discuss the lack of support services available for the houseless, including youth and how many of these organizations leave a lot to be desired when it comes to providing viable solutions for people experiencing houselessness. 

Many youth in these positions do not learn the life skills necessary to succeed on their own, and without the right supports in place, will fight an uphill battle just to remain alive in these conditions; unsafe shelter, unstable support systems, climate change creating unsafe outdoor climates, entire communities that are anti homeless, with some making laws against sleeping on the streets and even getting violent with the unhoused folks and, public transportation that will outright refuse a ride if you look too destitute. 

I previously wrote about the folks experiencing houselessness with much of their own sentiments echoed in that post, with how they don’t feel that the problems they face would not persist if those in charge would listen to feedback from more than shareholders about this very real issue. We all speak publicly and have heated discussions about the overall outcome of another human who’s experiencing houselessness, very rarely do the ones going through this have a voice in this discussion. Whatever the reason for this, should change. If society doesn’t want to witness the continued degradation of society, there must be changes made to the status quo; invite those living through these challenges to the discussions, listen to them, collaborate with them to learn where the blind spots are at for the rest of society who seems content judging those in these positions, rather than helping. 

Not everyone that is houseless is struggling with addiction, or mental health issues. Some literally choose to sleep in their vehicles, or on the streets and as I’ve briefly discussed in this post, some of those people the rest of society casts away as disposable, are children. 

Sources cited:

Photo: Youth, R. (n.d.). Red Youth - Each one, teach one! Red Youth. https://redyouth.org/

HUD PIT Study: 2023 AHAR: Part 1 - PIT Estimates of homelessness in the U.S. | HUD USER. (n.d.). https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/ahar/2023-ahar-part-1-pit-estimates-of-homelessness-in-the-us.html

OPB Article: Camhi, T. (2024, January 27). Unhoused young adults in Oregon count on each other for support amid limited services. Opb. https://www.opb.org/article/2024/01/24/unhoused-young-adults-oregon-support-each-other/