1 in 50 Kids Face Homelessness

One thing was crystal clear to me after perusing these studies: Youth homelessness is completely unacceptable. For children and youth, being homeless means much more than lacking a roof over their head. It means lacking stability and security, poor physical and mental health, hunger, and missed educational and developmental opportunities.

The stakes are too high, the effects too severe. It needs to stop.

Two troubling studies, both released today, paint a disturbing picture of homelessness in America. Maybe the problem was easy to ignore when you thought all homeless people were lazy, alcoholic panhandlers. But what's the excuse for avoiding this issue when the fastest growing segment of the homeless population isn't even old enough to vote?

Our economic meltdown has trickled all the way down to our nation's most vulnerable population: youth. According to the National Center on Family Homelessness, one out of every 50 children in this country face homelessness each year.

Pick your jaw up off the floor. You're not alone in your outraged bewilderment. One homeless child is too many, never mind 1.5 million. I think this excerpt sums up the audacity of our nation's predicament very nicely:

The year 2008 will long be remembered by Americans as a time when grossly overpaid bankers, captains of industry, and carmakers hobbled to Washington, hats in hand, begging for bailouts and infusions of billions of dollars. Ignored by members of Congress and the media were scores of children - many still infants and toddlers - who were homeless in the midst of this economic turmoil.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Here are a few more key findings from the study:

• Texas, Louisiana, Georgia, and Oklahoma have the highest overall risk for child homelessness.
• Southern and Southwestern states comprise the majority of states that scored high on overall risk.
• States that scored well on the poverty indicators tended to have lower overall risk for child homelessness, with some exceptions.
• Benefits generosity and household structure also tended to reflect states' overall risk scores, with some exceptions.
• In contrast, states that have more robust housing stocks did not necessarily score well on overall risk for homelessness.

Click on over to the informative website associated with the youth homelessness report card. Check out the interactive map and see where your state holds up in the rankings. Most importantly, learn how you can get involved in this critical issue.

As if this weren't enough news to make your head spin, another homeless youth study hit the newsstands today. This one paints a vivid picture of the harsh challenges facing homeless teens in New York City. The study, conducted by Covenant House (which operates shelters for young people) examined 444 people between the ages of 18 and 21 who entered the Covenant House Crisis Center between October 2007 and February 2008.

According to the NY Times, this sampling of teens had faced more than their share of challenges in their short lifetimes. Many were victims of abuse who grew up in foster care or other institutions who lacked jobs, a high school education, adequate health care, and even birth certificates.

Here are some details from the study:

• 47% said they had been disciplined physically before entering the shelter
• 37% said they had been victims of physical abuse
• 19% said they had endured sexual abuse
• 41% said they had witnessed violence in their homes
• 78% said they were unemployed when they entered the shelter Among those with jobs, 41% said those jobs were "off the books"

The stakes are too high, the effects too devastating. It needs to end.