Homeless Youth Research Articles

Housing for Aboriginal Youth in the Inner City of Winnipeg

Aboriginal families are highly overrepresented in child welfare caseloads. Major reasons for these high rates of involvement include poverty and housing issues, which contribute to perceptions of child neglect. In Winnipeg, the city with the highest proportion of Aboriginal peoples in Canada, low-cost housing is concentrated in core neighbourhoods. Homeless youth in these neighbourhoods, who are involved or have been involved in child welfare, were asked about their life experiences and the kind of housing that would help them. They talked about the need to be seen as resourceful, contributing members of the community, as well as their continued need of support from others, including friends and family. They wanted more than a place to sleep; they wanted a home that was safe, nurturing and long-term. The youth had school and work aspirations for themselves and wanted to help other youth reach their goals. There is a need for expansion of community-based and community-driven housing with youth who have been involved in the child welfare system.

Interventions for youth homelessness: A systematic review of effectiveness studies

ObjectiveThis systematic review synthesizes effectiveness evidence on interventions to prevent and address youth homelessness. It was conducted primarily for a United States policy and practice audience but involved an international synthesis of evidence. MethodWe conducted an international search that included eleven major academic electronic databases, 13 additional relevant institutional web-based publication databases, and a professional outreach for published and unpublished studies of the effectiveness of programs and practices to prevent or address youth homelessness, in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. We searched databases for studies published or completed between January 1, 2008 and March 19, 2019, and we also reviewed earlier studies synthesized in a similar past systematic review that ended its search in 2008. The review included experimental and quasi-experimental evaluation studies of youth ages 13–25. We included studies that only used pre-post comparisons and denote lower rigor designs clearly in the synthesis. ResultsThe search identified 4,387 potentially relevant unique publications. After screening, 66 publications representing 53 unique studies of 54 different interventions remained and were included in this review. The vast majority (83%) of unique studies were conducted in the U.S. Of the 53 unique studies, 22 (42%) involved some type of randomized evaluation. Many studies involved low rigor designs with weak counterfactuals, small sample sizes, and short follow-up periods. Included studies evaluated a range of interventions, and we grouped these into seven broad categories. The largest evidence base on the effectiveness of interventions relates to counseling and treatment interventions to address mental health or health risk behaviors. Overall, these studies showed promising results, but few included long-term follow-up. A small number of studies demonstrated reductions in occurrence of youth homelessness and housing instability, including some intensive case management and support interventions without direct housing assistance components. The field lacks rigorous evaluative evidence of many of the program models on which communities and governments rely to address youth homelessness (for example, street outreach, transitional living programs, youth shelters, host homes, and rapid rehousing). Evaluative evidence is further lacking on how the effects of interventions vary by subpopulations disproportionately impacted by homelessness. Discussion and conclusionPolicy and community interventions to prevent and end youth homelessness require a robust evidence base to inform decision-making. This systematic review presents an important starting point to inform solutions across a range of intervention areas, and it reveals significant areas in which investments in research and evaluation are urgently needed.

Aboriginal Youth Talk about Structural Determinants as the Causes of their Homelessness

This article explores structural determinants as possible causes of the homelessness of Aboriginal youth in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It includes a brief literature review and provides some of the findings of a recent research project, which implemented an Aboriginal research methodology with homeless youth in Toronto. These findings point to a strong link between Aboriginal children growing up in poverty and involvement in child welfare and becoming homeless as youth. Suggestions for positive change at the policy level are offered in order to prevent the next generation of Aboriginal children growing up to become homeless youth.

Homelessness youth and mental health service utilization: A long‐term follow‐up study

There is currently an incomplete picture of the long-term impact of homelessness on youth with mental health issues. There are also questions regarding homelessness as a predictor of mental health re-admissions. To examine the mental health service presentation profile of young people affected by homelessness and mental health issues. A retrospective analysis was conducted of the medical records of homeless (n = 29) and non-homeless (n = 32) youth who attended the YouthLink specialist mental health service in 2010. We tracked their pattern of mental health service admissions at five time points during a total period of 10 years, including 2 years prior to, and up to 8 years following the YouthLink presentation. A regression analysis was used to examine factors hypothesized to contribute to mental health re-admissions. Homeless youth had significantly more frequent presentations to inpatient and outpatient mental health services, and emergency departments for mental health reasons. They were 11 times more likely to be re-admitted to a mental health inpatient ward than non-homeless youth. Prior hospital admission was an independent predictor, increasing by a factor of 2.2 for every inpatient admission. The impact of homelessness on mental health issues is enduring, and is a long-term predictor of hospital re-admission.

Prevalence of substance use and associated risk factors among homeless youth in Iran: A cross-sectional study

BackgroundHomeless youth are at increased risk of substance use and its consequences worldwide. Substance use among youth who are homeless has not been as well studied, particularly in developing country settings. We therefore aimed to assess the prevalence and correlates of substance use among homeless youth in Kerman, a city in southeast Iran. MethodsIn a cross-sectional survey by convenience sampling, we recruited 202 homeless youth from September to December 2017. Data were collected in face-to-face interviews using a standardized questionnaire. Youth were eligible if they were 15–29 years old and homeless or unstably housed for at least one month during last year. Factors associated with substance use were characterized by multivariable logistic regression analysis. ResultsIn our survey, 50.0% (95% CI 43.0–56.9) of homeless youth reported substance use in the last month. The most common substances used were heroin (34.0%), alcohol (31.2% – illegal in Iran), and methamphetamine (24.0%). Substance use was associated with male sex (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 6.57, 95% CI 2.72, 15.85), age 25–29 vs. 15–24 years (AOR 4.02, 95% CI 1.57, 10.29), current tobacco use (AOR 6.49, 95% CI 2.63, 16.00), and absolute homelessness vs. relative homelessness (AOR 7.75, 95% CI 2.90, 20.68). ConclusionsFindings highlight the need for prevention programs to reduce substance use-related harm among homeless youth, particularly among tobacco users and those completely homeless. Innovative strategies are needed reach the absolutely homeless and simultaneously address the substance use and competing social welfare needs of this vulnerable population.

Exchanges

In the Exchanges, we present conversations with scholars and practitioners of community engagement, responses to previously published material, and other reflections on various aspects of community-engaged scholarship meant to provoke further dialogue and discussion. In this section, we invite our readers to offer their thoughts and ideas on the meanings and understandings of engaged scholarship, as practiced in local or faraway communities, diverse cultural settings, and in various disciplinary contexts. We especially welcome community-based scholars’ views and opinions on their collaborations with university-based partners in particular and engaged scholarship in general. 
 In this issue, we profile the perspectives of young scholars. Here we feature a conversation between Penelope Sanz, who recently obtained her Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Saskatchewan and who serves as the Journal’s pioneering managing assistant, and Jayne Malenfant, a 2018 Pierre Elliott Trudeau Scholar, Vanier Scholar, and Ph.D. Candidate at McGill University in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education. A young engaged scholar working with the homeless in Montreal, Jayne talks about her on-going study on how homelessness impacts young people’s education. She looks at the challenges of accessing educational institutional support, an issue, she says, close to her heart as she was once a homeless youth herself. She reflects on the need for academia to open more spaces for young researchers undertaking engaged scholarship to involve the homeless youths themselves in the search for solutions.

Psychological factors strengthening homeless youths’ life satisfaction

ABSTRACT Life satisfaction among homeless youth is particularly low, yet remains a poorly investigated phenomenon. This study aims to explore three positive psychological factors related to homeless youth’s life satisfaction: self-esteem, coping strategies, and social support. Seventy-four homeless adolescents from eight different shelters in Quebec (Canada) were interviewed to fill out self-report questionnaires. Multiple regression analysis revealed that coping strategies focused on solving the problem, positive self-esteem, and to worry less about the future contributed the most to homeless youths’ life satisfaction. These psychological variables contributed to life satisfaction after adjusting for a set of potential covariates: gender, sexual abuse, and mental health. In conclusion, improving homeless youths’ self-esteem, developing their capacity to actively solve their problems, and finding alternatives to unproductive worry seem to represent key components for enhancing homeless adolescents’ life satisfaction.

Meeting the Healthcare Needs of Sex Trafficked Youth in Rhode Island

The issue of human trafficking is one that has gained traction in the public consciousness in recent years and can manifest in various forms across the human experience. One specific subset, domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST), refers to the “recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act,” where the individual is younger than the age of 18, an American citizen or legal resident, and involved within the borders of the United States. While all children and adolescents are vulnerable to exploitation by virtue of their age and stage of brain development, those with a personal history of adverse childhood experiences appear to be at the highest risk. Factors commonly linked with subsequent DMST involvement include sexual abuse, household dynamics necessitating child protective services, and social dysfunction resulting in runaway and/or homeless youth.

Ethical Applications of Big Data-Driven AI on Social Systems: Literature Analysis and Example Deployment Use Case

The use of technological solutions to address the production of goods and offering of services is ubiquitous. Health and social issues, however, have only slowly been permeated by technological solutions. Whilst several advances have been made in health in recent years, the adoption of technology to combat social problems has lagged behind. In this paper, we explore Big Data-driven Artificial Intelligence (AI) applied to social systems; i.e., social computing, the concept of artificial intelligence as an enabler of novel social solutions. Through a critical analysis of the literature, we elaborate on the social and human interaction aspects of technology that must be in place to achieve such enabling and address the limitations of the current state of the art in this regard. We review cultural, political, and other societal impacts of social computing, impact on vulnerable groups, and ethically-aligned design of social computing systems. We show that this is not merely an engineering problem, but rather the intersection of engineering with health sciences, social sciences, psychology, policy, and law. We then illustrate the concept of ethically-designed social computing with a use case of our ongoing research, where social computing is used to support safety and security in home-sharing settings, in an attempt to simultaneously combat youth homelessness and address loneliness in seniors, identifying the risks and potential rewards of such a social computing application.

Smoking cessation methods among homeless youth in a Midwestern city

IntroductionNearly three times as many homeless youth smoke cigarettes in the United States (US) compared to the general population of youth. Fewstudieshave focused on how to help homeless youth quit smoking. As part of a series of studies to develop a smoking cessation intervention for homeless youth, this study aimed to describe methods used in past quit attemptsbyhomeless youth. MethodsRecruited from a drop-in center in the Midwestern US, the analytic sample was comprised of 32unaccompanied homeless youthaged 14–24 who smoked combustible tobacco at some point in the past week.In-person qualitative interviews were conducted to understand prior quit attempt experiences of homeless youth. ResultsTwenty-two youth (69%) were willing to quit smoking in the next 30 days. Most previous quit attempts were unassisted (78%). Participants frequently reported engaging in distracting behaviors (e.g., video games) or thoughts (e.g.,remaining positive). Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) was another popular method (38%), but with mostly negative reactions. While less common, vaping and use of cannabis to substitute cigarettes was reportedin a notable factionof youth (28%), primarily 18–24 years of age. ConclusionsYouth are primarily engaging in non-evidence-based strategies to quit smoking. Existing evidence-based treatments are often underutilized or not used according to instructions,and youth who do use evidence-based treatments do not find them useful. Future research should explore effective cessation treatment among homeless youth that can ideally be provided at shelters and drop-in centers. ImplicationsExisting evidence-based treatments are underutilized by homeless youth in this study. Most homeless youth are willing to quit in the next month and are interested in trying behavioral counseling and monitored use of NRT. Drop-in centers may be an effective location from which to develop and offer targeted smoking cessation interventions for homeless youth.

Homelessness and Suicidality: The Role of Bullying and Parental Support

ObjectiveTo examine the relation between homelessness and suicidality and to test bullying as a mediator and parental support as a moderator of these relations.BackgroundYouth from low‐income families are more likely to be bullied and in turn experience negative mental health outcomes. Parental support has been reported to mitigate the effects of stressful events, such as being bullied. However, these relations are still undocumented among youth experiencing homelessness.MethodThis study included a random sample of 2,049 stably housed and 64 homeless youth enrolled in the Delaware Public Schools, grades 9 through 12, who completed the 2015 Delaware Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Hayes's PROCESS macro was used to test for a moderated mediation relation between bullying, suicidality, and parental support for homeless youth. Results: Bullying mediated the relation between homelessness and suicidality, and parental support moderated the relation between bullying and suicidality. Youth experiencing homelessness reported more bullying, which was associated with more severe suicidality. For youth experiencing homelessness with low levels of parental support, bullying was associated with more severe suicidality. Conversely, for youth with high levels of parental support, bullying was not associated with more severe suicidality.ConclusionThis study indicates that bullying is a mechanism through which homelessness and suicidality are related, while also demonstrating the importance of parental support.ImplicationThe increased risk of suicidality among youth experiencing homelessness who are bullied, as well as the effects of parental support, warrant attention from school personnel and youth service providers.

Mental Health Outcomes Among Homeless, Runaway, and Stably Housed Youth.

Runaway youth and homeless youth are at risk for adverse mental health outcomes. These 2 populations are frequently pooled together in both research and interventions yet may have unique health needs. We sought to assess differences in mental health outcomes among these populations. We conducted a secondary data analysis of ninth- and 11th-graders in the 2016 minnesota Student Survey (n = 68 785). We categorized youth into 4 subgroups based on housing status in the previous year: (1) unaccompanied homeless youth (0.5%), (2) runaway youth (4%), (3) youth who had both run away and been homeless (0.6%), and (4) stably housed youth (95%). We performed multivariable logistic regression to compare 4 mental health outcomes (self-injury, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and depressive symptoms) across groups, controlling for demographics and abuse history. Unstably housed youth had poorer mental health outcomes when compared with their stably housed peers (P < .05). For example, 11% of homeless youth, 20% of runaways, and 33% of youth who had experienced both had attempted suicide in the previous year compared with 2% of stably housed youth (adjusted odds ratios 2.4, 4.9, and 7.1, respectively). Other outcomes showed a similar pattern. Our findings suggest that runaway and homeless youth represent unique populations with high levels of mental health needs who would benefit from targeted clinical and community interventions. Pediatric clinicians represent one potential point of screening and intervention.

National Communication System for Runaway and Homeless Youth (ACF)

National Communication System for Runaway and Homeless Youth (ACF)

Interpretation of vulnerability and cumulative disadvantage among unaccompanied adolescent migrants in Greece: A qualitative study.

In settings of mass displacement, unaccompanied minors (UAMs) are recognized as a vulnerable group and consequently prioritized by relief efforts. This study examines how the interpretation of vulnerability by the national shelter system for male UAMs in Greece shapes their trajectories into adulthood. Between August 2018 and April 2019, key informant interviews were carried out with child protection staff from Greek non-governmental organizations that refer UAMs to specialized children's shelters in Athens to understand how child protection workers interpret vulnerability. In-depth interviews and life history calendars were collected from 44 male migrant youths from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Iran who arrived in Greece as UAMs but had since transitioned into adulthood. Analysis of in-depth interviews and life history calendars examined how cumulative disadvantage and engagement with the shelter system altered youths' trajectories into adulthood. Younger adolescents were perceived as more vulnerable and prioritized for shelters over those who were "almost 18" years old. However, a subset of youths who requested shelter at the age of 17 years had experienced prolonged journeys where they spent months or years living on their own in socially isolated environments that excluded them from experiences conducive to adolescent development. The shelter system for UAMs in Greece enabled youths to develop new skills and networks that facilitated integration into society, and transferred them into adult housing when they turned 18 years old so that they could continue developing new skills. Those who were not in shelters by age 18 years could not access adult housing and lost this opportunity. Limitations included possible underrepresentation of homeless youth as well as the inability to capture all nationalities of UAMs in Greece, though the 2 most common nationalities, Afghan and Pakistani, were included. Due to the way vulnerability was interpreted by the shelter system for UAMs, youths who had the greatest need to learn new skills to facilitate their integration often had the least opportunity to do so. To avoid creating long-lasting disparities between UAMs who are placed in shelters and those who are not, pathways should be developed to allow young adult males to enter accommodation facilities and build skills and networks that facilitate integration. Furthermore, cumulative disadvantages should be taken into account while assessing UAMs' vulnerability. Following UAMs' trajectories into early adulthood was critical for capturing this long-term consequence of the shelter system's interpretation of vulnerability.

Social support and pregnancy attitudes among youth experiencing homelessness

Youth experiencing homelessness demonstrate high rates of pregnancy and pregnancy involvement. Many homeless youth view pregnancies positively; some extant research has depicted this group’s pro-pregnancy attitudes as a function of youth being in desperate need of resources, such as money, food, clothing, housing, and healthcare. Several studies report that female homeless youth, in particular, feel trapped by their need for monetary resources. Their lack of economic capital may thus cause some of them to go to great lengths, including becoming pregnant, merely to maintain access to supports, especially when pregnancy is perceived as desired by a partner who provides such benefits. However, knowledge of the association between youths’ receipt of specific sources and types of social support and their pregnancy attitudes is limited. Social network data were collected from 1003 homeless youth (ages 13–25). Logistic regressions assessed whether specific forms of social support (informational, instrumental, emotional), provided by youths’ social network members (street-based peers, home-based peers, family members, service providers, serious partners), are associated with youths’ pro-pregnancy attitude endorsements. Multivariate results demonstrated that youth who reported receipt of instrumental support (e.g., monetary resources) from a serious partner were significantly more likely to endorse pro-pregnancy attitudes compared to their peers who did not receive such form of support. Findings suggest a need for creating dyadic communication and prevention activities that facilitate homeless youths’ conversations about their economic resource needs, as part of discussions about their pregnancy motivations and relationship goals, in ways that foster informed, self-determined reproductive health decision-making.

Trauma, substance use, and mental health symptoms in transitional age youth experiencing homelessness.

This descriptive study examined the prevalence and correlates of trauma, substance use, and mental health symptoms in homeless transitional age youth (TAY) in San Francisco. One hundred homeless TAY were recruited from a community-based organization to complete a survey on trauma, mental health symptoms, and substance use. We used these measures: National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)-Modified Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) for frequency and risk level of substance use; the 10-item Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) for prevalence of trauma; the Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms; Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale for depression symptoms; and Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item for anxiety symptoms. Almost all (n=98) participants experienced at least one ACE during childhood, and 77% experienced four or more. Most participants (80%) reached the diagnostic threshold for PTSD, 74% for depression, and 51% for moderate anxiety. Symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, and depression were all significantly correlated with use of opioids and stimulants. Trauma, and co-occurring substance use and mental health problems are prevalent among homeless TAY. Individual- and community-level interventions are needed to address and improve the health of this population.

The Lavender Scare in Homonormative Times: Policing, Hyper-incarceration, and LGBTQ Youth Homelessness

Scholars have identified policing and hyper-incarceration as key mechanisms to reproduce racial inequality and poverty. Existing research, however, often overlooks how policing practices impact gender and sexuality, especially expansive expressions of gender and non-heterosexuality. This lack of attention is critical because lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people disproportionately experience incarceration, including LGBTQ youth who are disproportionately incarcerated in juvenile detention. In this article, I draw on 18 months of ethnographic fieldwork and 40 in-depth interviews with LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness to address this gap in the literature by documenting how police and other agents of the state use their discretion to regulate youth’s gender expressions, identities, and sex lives. I posit that current policing patterns of discrimination operate primarily not through de jure discrimination against LGBTQ people but as de facto discrimination based on discretionary hyper-incarceration practices that police gender, sexuality, and LGBTQ people. I contend that policing is not only about maintaining racial inequality and governing poverty but also about controlling and regulating gender and sexuality, especially the gender and sexuality of poor LGBTQ people of color.

Food for Thought: Constructing Multimodal Identities through Recipe-Creation with Homeless Youth

Food for Thought: Constructing Multimodal Identities through Recipe-Creation with Homeless Youth

Redesign of a homelessness service system for young people

This research identifies measures that could reduce youth homelessness and lead to improved outcomes for young people who experience homelessness. The findings are based on a community-level analysis of special homelessness services (SHS) data and sites of innovation in three states: South Australia, NSW and Victoria.

Adapting a family intervention to reduce risk factors for sexual exploitation

BackgroundSexually exploited youth are disconnected from societal tethers and need support systems, which makes them some of the most vulnerable of youth. This heightened level of vulnerability increases their risk for violence, abuse, ongoing sexual exploitation and all its sequelae. The purpose of this study was to examine an evidence-based intervention called STRIVE (support to reunite, involve and value each other) that has been a successful family re-engagement strategy with newly homeless youth. We sought to explore its contextual relevance for youth with risk factors for sexual exploitation and identify necessary adaptations to reduce risk factors for sexual exploitation. We deliberately took an intersectional approach in conducting this study.MethodsSix community-based focus groups were conducted with youth at risk for sexual exploitation and their service providers. Each group was recorded, transcribed, coded, and thematically analyzed.ResultsResults from 29 youth and 11 providers indicate that there are unique considerations that must be taken into account while working with youth at risk for sexual exploitation to ensure effective service delivery and/or ethical research. Emergent themes included: setting the stage by building rapport and acknowledging experiences of structural violence, protect and hold which balances youth’s need for advocacy/support with their caregivers’ need for validation/understanding, and walking the safety tightrope by assessing risks and safety planning.DiscussionFocus groups are an effective methodology when working with traditionally disempowered populations particularly in gaining a range of perspectives to meet unique needs/preferences. Youth at risk for commercial sexual exploitation needs require strengths-based, individualized, multi-systemic approaches.