Meeting the Needs of Homeless Youth: A Report of the Merrimack Valley Youth Homelessness Project

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Meeting the Needs of Homeless Youth A Report of
the Merrimack Valley Youth Homelessness Project
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Todays Presentation

• Project Background and Goals
• Project Design
• Findings on the Service Environment
• Findings on the Youth Homelessness Problem
• Analysis of Gaps and Overlaps
• Recommendations and Challenges
• Next Steps

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Project Background

• Supported by the P-21, Pathways to Success by
  Twenty-One Initiative
• Partnership between Merrimack Valley Workforce
  Investment Board and Center for Public Opinion
  Research at Merrimack College
• Project parameters and design took shape out of
  our April 2008 planning conference

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Why Youth Homelessness Matters in Workforce
Development

• Sum (2009)
• Valley youth are lagging in a variety of areas
  that are critical to workforce preparation early
  work experience, education, apprenticeship,
  training.

• MVHUB queries
• Youth homelessness is on the rise. Confirmatory
  data from national, state and regional sources,
  as well as our focus group and agency interviews.

What Links Housing Employment? Stability Self-Es
teem
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Project Goals

• Develop a picture of the service environment
• the types of services provided
• the ways in which these services are delivered
• the challenges and constraints facing service
  providers
• Develop a picture of the youth homelessness
  problem
• the causes of youth homelessness
• the ways in which homeless youth are currently
  surviving
• the needs of homeless and at-risk youth
• the assets and barriers to homeless and at-risk
  youth getting help
• Identify the areas where services are meeting
  needs the overlaps and where services are not
  meeting needs the gaps
• Develop a set of recommendations that draw on the
  strengths of the existing services environment
  and address the areas where the current system is
  failing to meet needs

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Project Design
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Two Parts to the Data Collection

• Agency Interviews
• 21 agencies, from 3 geographic areas, of 7 types
• Educational, community or faith based, state
  agencies, local government/public safety,
  libraries, housing authorities, shelters or food
  pantries
• Youth Focus Groups
• Group had 6-10 youth, mixed gender, ages 15-20
• Youth did not need to identify as homeless or
  at-risk

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Findings on theService Environment
Services Provided?How Delivered?Challenges and
Constraints?

• Nearly all organizations have some focus on basic
  needs
• Shelters place to live
• Food Pantry - food
• A range of other services
• Lack of services that are preventative

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Findings on theService Environment
Services Provided?How Delivered?Challenges and
Constraints?

• Organizations focus on a single type of service
• They use a one-on-one delivery model
• They have productive partnerships with other
  youth serving organizations
• Their outreach/advertising efforts are extensive
• Organizations and community meetings
• Websites and Myspace pages
• Others

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Findings on theService Environment
Services Provided?How Delivered?Challenges and
Constraints?

• Insufficient funding was seen as the biggest
  constraint
• Physical and technological infrastructure was
  deemed adequate, but needing improvement
• Legal privacy barriers to information sharing are
  significant
• Reporting requirements are extensive
• Legal requirements lead to the denial of services
  to individuals who do not meet program
  qualifications
• Most organizations recognized that many of these
  constraints are necessary, but still burdensome

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Findings on the Youth Homelessness Problem
Causes?How Are They Surviving?Needs?Assets/Barr
ier to Getting Help?

• Economic and family causes of homelessness are
  primary, but it may be a choice for some
• It started with the loss of a job. Foreclosure
  is a big problem.
• All family members passed away moved on. No
  way to get a job, dont have any money, have
  nobody to rely on anymore. A lot of kids in
  DSS. The kids dont have to stay until 18. A
  rebellious teen can end up in jail, run away, do
  things you shouldnt because until you get caught
  you can do what you want.

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Findings on the Youth Homelessness Problem
Causes?How Are They Surviving?Needs?Assets/Barr
ier to Getting Help?

• Where homeless youth hang out
• Abandoned places, shelter, liquor stores, at
  friends house, under bridges, the park, in front
  of the high school waiting for other kids to come
  out, the mall the YMCA, walking in stores
• Where homeless youth actually sleep
• Under bridges, anyplace that has a roof,
  dumpster, abandoned buildings, friends house,
  anyplace that might have some sort of covering,
  anywhere you can find a store open 24 hours,
  stairs, basement
• Homeless young people hang out with
• More are on their own and dont have many people
  to talk to except other homeless people.
• Depends if youre a boy or girl. Boys hang out
  with their age group but girls hang out with
  older guys
• Some homeless youth meet their basic needs by
• Hustling, begging for change, they sing and
  perform, sometimes they resort to stealing and
  illegal activities
• Others rely on services
• A lot of shelters help you out, they are a
  really big help, even if its just to clean up

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Findings on the Youth Homelessness Problem
Causes?How Are They Surviving?Needs?Assets/Barr
ier to Getting Help?

• Homeless youth need basics, plus psychological
  support and long term goals
• Food, Water, Clothes, Shower/Bath, Hygiene
  Finding shelter, Health Care, Protection from the
  weather/cold . You cant think straight without
  food
• They need Love and care, Finding someone to
  talk about it with, Love, Help, Support, Someone
  to talk to. Thats another reason why people are
  homeless because they feel abandoned. I remember
  when I was younger, my mom being stressed about
  money clothes food, and bed
• Belief, hope, faith, comfort, and someone to
  motivate you

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Findings on the Youth Homelessness Problem
Causes?How Are They Surviving?Needs?Assets/Barr
ier to Getting Help?

• Social Assets
• Youth who are staying at friends house
• In front of the high school waiting other kids
  to come out
• A school counselor and their closest friends,
  best friends, people closest to them, their
  families, friends who you confide in
• Material and Non-Material Barriers
• From education you get a good job, you get
  money, and get back on your feet
• Keep a job, swallow pride and let people know
  you need help, pride will not feed you or make
  you a better person They dont use services
  available because they are embarrassed, too much
  pride.

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Overlaps Where Services Are Meeting Needs

• Basic Needs
• Advertising

Gaps Where Services Are Not Meeting Needs

• Psychological Support
• Utilizing Existing Social Networks

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Recommendations and Challenges

• Getting Youth into Programs
• Making Programs Work
• Making the System Work

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Getting Youth into Programs

• R1 Continue to Work to De-stigmatize Youth
  Homelessness
• R2 Understand Better the Communication Styles of
  Youth
• R3 Use Existing Social Networks in Outreach
• Challenge Question To what degree do our
  strategies for getting homeless and at-risk youth
  into programs need to be targeted separately to
  in-school, out of school, and post high school
  youth, and to what degree will broader, common
  outreach and advertising strategies be effective?

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Making Programs Work

• R4 Enhance the Existing Partnerships
• R5 Improve the Transitions Between Service
  Provider
• R6 Partner More with the Private Sector
• R7 Establish a Network of Service Providers
• Challenge Question How do we increase
  coordination of services, and enhance
  partnerships and networks without adding another
  layer of bureaucracy?
• Challenge Question How feasible and desirable
  is a one-stop-shopping model of service
  provision to homeless youth?
• Challenge Question Is a universal referral form
  a desirable option?

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Making Programs Work

• R8 Adopt a Graduated Approach to Moving Youth
  Into and Out of Services
• R9 Programs Should Have an Explicit Focus on
  Psychological Support, Long Term Goals, and
  Positive Self-Image
• Challenge Question Are there tradeoffs between
  the client based and walk-in models? What are
  the advantages of horizontal v. vertical
  organizational models? Should client-based
  models be the goal towards which we are working,
  or could resources be more effectively deployed
  in other ways?

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Making the System Work

• R10 Focus on Creative Advocacy to Address the
  Systemic Constraints on Service Providers

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Next Steps

• Continue to build a network of providers
• Use the recommendations of this report to develop
  training, best practices models, and program
  goals/requirements
• Keep advocacy and prevention as an important
  component of the dialogue on youth homelessness
• Review the recommendations and challenges