Homelessness Report

Great Essays
Introduction
Homelessness in the United States is a grave and multifaceted issue for everyone, specifically for youth and young adults. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, 633,782 individuals are faced with homelessness, nightly in the United States. Yearly, there are about 550,000 youth and young adults up to age 24 who are homeless for more than seven days. Of these youth, nearly 50,000 spend many nights on the street, for up to six months or more (2013). The State of Homelessness in America 2013 report shows there were 36,911 homeless individuals in the state of Texas in 2011 and 34,052 in 2012 (2013).
There are multiple reasons why adults experience homelessness. The National Coalition for the Homeless sites lack
…show more content…
The agency provides shelter to homeless youth and young adults, between the ages of 0 and 21. It has been in existence since 1987 and has undergone several changes in the last several years, due to funding sources, changes in leadership and staff. Community and clentclient needs have also played a role in how the agency functions (“About us,” n.d.).
City House operates two major programs, My Friend’s House (MFH) and the Runaway Homeless Youth/Transitional Living program (RHY/TLP). My Friend’s House is a 24-hour, emergency shelter for runaway and abused children and youth between the ages of 0-17. The main reasons why children and youth end up staying at My Friend’s House include removal from their homes by Child Protective Services. Other youth run away and end up homeless because they are unable to meet their basic needs. Clients can reside at My Friend’s House for up to 21 days, free of charge (“Programs,” n.d.)
The Runaway Homeless Youth/Transitional Living program serves older, homeless youth and young adults between the ages of 16 and 21. The 16 and 17 year olds receive transitional living services at My Friend’s House because they are still considered
…show more content…
As a CAP Practitioner, the problem I am trying to solve is how to increase retention and positive outcomes for residents in the Runaway Homeless Youth/Transitional Living Program and facilitate a more positive experience. Some examples of how to increase these efforts include evaluating and making changes to the current intake process and services offered through the Transitional Living Program. Making this type of change will hopefully meet the unique needs of each individual seeking agency services. Updating and/or targeting the services more specifically to this population may increase their chances of being successful in the program, and possibly enhancing their odds of transitioning successfully to independent living.
Human Behavior and the Social Environment
Reviewing human behavior theories can provide guidance and a clearer understanding on how to increase retention and positive outcomes with homeless and runaway residents participating in the Runaway Homeless Youth/Transitional Living Program at City House. Three human behavior theories relevant to the practice situation are the ecological, conflict, and functionalist diversity

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Family Housing (LAFH) is a non-profit 501(C)(3) organization whose mission is to “to help families transition out of homelessness and poverty through a continuum of housing enriched with supportive services” (2012). LAFH’s vision is to be frontrunners in putting an end to homelessness by providing resources and solutions to the population. LAFH strives to provide assistance and opportunities for individuals to find a home, whether it be temporary, transitional, or permanent. In addition, LAFH aims to address and break down barriers to homelessness by providing tools and on-site supportive services. Through collaborations and partnerships with outside organizations, LAFH is able to provide the community with the following…

    • 1596 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Homelessness Case Study

    • 819 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Homelessness is a very serious issue not only in our area, but all over the United States. According to statistics, there are approximately 578,424 individuals that are experiencing homelessness(National Alliance to End Homelessness). This epidemic, so to speak, is so widespread that it reaches into every state and impacts every community. In most cases, the people who are homeless cannot help that they are without a home. The circumstances of the homeless individual’s position could be that they were laid off their job or couldn’t make the payments of their rent or the house foreclosed.…

    • 819 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Of the children exiting care, 9% were emancipated and 2% had unspecified “other outcomes” (Child Welfare Gateway Information). Nine percent does not seem like a substantial number, but that is 21, 875 children in one year who was released on their own with minimal support. Many of the kids have experienced trauma, abuse in and out of foster care, a lack of stability and a contempt for adults and authority figures. Combining the factors that are against them and what little resources they have working for them, the outcome is predictable. In a study on homeless emerging adults including adults whom have aged out, Rebecca J. Gomez et al.…

    • 437 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Epidemic of Homelessness in America Imagine the limitations of providing adequate housing for you, and your family while living paycheck to paycheck. Where a sick day, or the cut back of hours at work could leave you with the inability to pay rent. Unfortunately, this is a hardship that millions of Americans who live below the poverty line face on a daily basis. Now, imagine someone suffering with mental illness, or drug addiction on their own, who are obviously in desperate need for the resources that could enable them to become functional in society.…

    • 985 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I was curious that it is so common to see some people have to spend their nights on the streets in the flourishing city like San Francisco. In fact, the housing crisis has been a challenge social issue in San Francisco for a long period. I have been wondered how frustrated would be if a family has to sleep out on the streets, especially at the freezing nights. The Hamilton Family Center is the great option for families who experience homelessness to get various supports. It provides different services through different programs, including family shelter, transitional housing, homelessness prevention and rapid re-housing, and children services.…

    • 765 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Homelessness is a huge problem in the United States, roughly about 2 million (Covenant House) teenagers that are facing homelessness. Everyday people pass by homeless teenagers in every state that are living on the streets, in abandoned places, or even by a river. Teenagers are homeless for many different reasons. There are too many young adults in troubled families around the United States that are homeless; reasons such as a lack of parental support and substance abuse; but there are certain ways that the communities in the United States could help to eradicate the problem.…

    • 1502 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    On any given day in the cities and towns of America, a serious social problem is ever present yet ignored by most. Men, women and children are living on the streets, in parks, in cars, in makeshift cardboard structures and in shelters all across our country. These are the poorest people in the United States. According to The National Alliance to end Homelessness, in January 2014, in a required census count, there were over 578,000 actual homeless people in communities across the country(2014). It is estimated that that number could be closer to 3 million.…

    • 788 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Homelessness In America

    • 803 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Homelessness has become a widespread problem, with people being affected globally. In the United States alone, an estimated 3.5 million people experience being homeless each year (Overview of Homelessness). Being homeless is often defined as “having no home or permanent place of residence (Homeless).” So the question is, how can so many people end up without a house to live in? Many different factors help contribute to growing rates of homelessness in America, however homelessness in the United States can mainly be attributed to low income and lack of affordable housing, substance abuse, and mental illnesses (Causes of Homelessness).…

    • 803 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Homelessness Walking down the streets of many urban areas, a person is often faced with a seemingly ignored problem: homelessness. As often as the reality of homelessness occurs, most people ignore it as if it is acceptable. Although there are some people who try to contribute donations and shelters, the government has not figured out anything that will bring a lasting solution to homelessness. The homeless have been a part of society for centuries, but in America, the trend of homelessness has not been on a national level until the past 30 years.…

    • 997 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Proposal For Homelessness

    • 2455 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Problem and Background There is a growing rate of homelessness in the United States and it is happening to individuals from all walks of life. Sub groups including veterans, children, families, senior citizens are the collection of homeless individuals. In the 2015 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress, 564,708 people were homeless on a given January night. Majority of these individuals (69 percent) were staying in residential programs for homeless people, and 31 percent were found in unsheltered locations. Twenty-three percent (127,786) of all homeless people were children, under the age of 18, nine percent (52,973) were between the ages of 18 and 24, and 68 percent (383,948) were 25 years or older.…

    • 2455 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Empowering the Homeless Homelessness is a huge problem in the United States. Everyday people pass by homeless teenagers in every state that are living on the streets, in abandoned places, or even by a river. Even people see troubled families every day looking for help. Teenagers are homeless for many different reasons. Some of these reasons may vary from lack of parental support and substance abuse.…

    • 1007 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Theory Of Homelessness

    • 1005 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In the 1960’s the mentally ill were housed in long term institutions until they closed in favor for community based treatment facilities. Once the patients were released from these long term institutions they wound up with no place to go except on the streets. Children and young adults are no different, when it comes to being a part of a social system such as foster care become of age or eighteen, a federal recognized age to become a legal adult, often find them selves homeless. With out any guardians, guidance, job skills or education children often have so many strikes against them that becoming homeless are the only option they know. A 2010 study by the Center for American Progress that twenty to forty percent of homeless youth or teenagers become homeless by getting thrown out by their parents mostly because of their sexual…

    • 1005 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s current definition of homelessness is an anyone who is unsheltered, living in a homeless facility or program, or living with others for a short, determined amount of time (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2015). This definition fails to include the children and youth who are staying temporary with others or in a motel that their families have to pay for with a minimal income (The National Network for Youth, 2015). According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness (2015), in 2003, there were approximately 100,000 youths considered homeless.…

    • 194 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Growing up in a southern Alabama town of less than 10,000 residents, I was not truly aware of the issue of homelessness. Homelessness was only a subject which I had seen in the news and in movies. However, when I became a peer helper as a junior in high school, my perception soon changed. I became part of a peer mentoring program, in which I counseled underprivileged and troubled middle school students. Through this program I discovered that homelessness was not a problem rooted in major cities, for it lied even in a town as small my own.…

    • 462 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    This in turn will allow for the opportunity to create programs that will be better capable of meeting the needs of homeless families, especially those needs not faced by other homeless groups, such as healthcare for children, education access for children, etc. This study also has the potential to uncover root causes of homelessness among families, which will allow for a deeper understanding of the problem of homelessness as it exists in society…

    • 1479 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays