Specifics of social work with young people experiencing homelessness

Abstract

There were about a 4.1million homeless people in the European Union [1]. In the European Union, 20-30 per cent of homeless people are young people between the ages of 18-29 years [2]. Homelessness is a concern for policymakers and society as a whole. Recent literature on social workers’ experiences with homeless people has mainly focused on working with the general homeless population and not specifically on social work with homeless youth. A qualitative research method was used to analyze the cause and consequences of youth homelessness, and identify skills needed for social work with young homeless people and inspiration of social workers motivation to help young homeless people. Five social workers working with young homeless people from a city in Finland participated in research. The semi-structured interview data were analysed using the content analysis method. The study revealed – causes and consequences of youth homelessness; skills needed for social work with young homeless people and social workers driving force working with homeless youths.