For LIBR 265

1. TEENAGE
HOMELESSNESS
ONA KELLER

2. DEFINITION
No consistent, safe
place to live

3. STATISTICS
• Estimates range from 1.6 – 2.8 million homeless teens
• Equal numbers of males and females
• Most homeless youth are between the ages of 15-17
• 10% pregnant
• 20-40% LGBT
• 50% high school dropouts

4. CAUSES
Family problems
Economic problems
Residential instability

5. LGBT HOMELESS
TEENAGERS

6. LGBT HOMELESS
TEENAGERS
Higher risk for:
• Drug addiction
• Prostitution
• Sexual and physical abuse
• Depression
Need LGBT-specific outreach
and shelters

7. • Access to
information is key
• Building trust
takes time
• Offer a range of
services
OUTREACH

8. RESOURCES
• Forty to None Project: www.FortyToNone.org
• National Runaway Safeline: 1-800-RUNAWAY,
www.1800runaway.org
• National Coalition for the Homeless:
www.NationalHomeless.org
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration Homelessness Resource Center:
http://homeless.samhsa.gov

9. REFERENCES
Aviles de Bradley, A. (2011). Unaccompanied homeless youth:
Intersections of homelessness, school experiences and
educational policy. Child and Youth Services, 32, 155-172.
National Coalition for the Homeless (2008). Homeless Youth. Retrieved
from: http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/youth.html
National Runaway Switchboard. (2010). Why They Run. Retrieved from:
http://www.1800runaway.org/learn/research/why_they_run/
report/
Oliveira, J., & Burke, P. (2009). Lost in the shuffle: Culture of homeless
adolescents. Pediatric Nursing, 35(3), 154-161.
Schwartz, M., Sorensen, H., Ammerman, S., & Bard, E. (2008). Exploring
the relationship between homelessness and delinquency: A
snapshot of a group of homeless youth in San Jose, California.
Child Adolescent Social Work, 25, 255-269.
Whitbeck, L., Chen, X., Hoyt, D., Tyler, K., & Johnson, K. (2004). Mental
disorder, subsistence strategies, and victimization among gay,
lesbian, and bisexual homeless and runaway adolescents. The
Journal of Sex Research, 41(4), 329-342.