Homeless and Runaway Youth Issues have been great majority of my passion. Now, I do not work for any one agency, but look at the issue of Youth Homelessness across a broad spectrum both in my local community in Hudson Valley, in New York State, Nationwide and Globally. Unaccompanied Youth often of not have the supports many connected youth have. My “calling” is from their need. I will always be a youth worker.

Here, I will be posting articles and papers addressing the issue of youth homelessness and the systems they are impacted by. I hope that you find them useful!

RESEARCH

Housing Trajectories of Transition Aged Youth

Young adulthood is a time of transition which poses particular challenges for youth who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, including those exiting foster care. The instability of being homeless puts youth at greater risk of many poor outcomes, including physical and mental health conditions, decreased prospects for education and employment, justice system involvement, and recurring future homelessness. As a result, connection to relevant housing resources and services are critical to ensure that young adults have the opportunity to succeed. 

Data and Research on Homeless Youth – Administration for Children and Families’ National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth.

When it comes to runaway and homeless youth, what’s the difference between a drop-in center and a transitional living program? How would youth grade the services they receive?
James Bolas, former Executive Director of the Coalition for Homeless Youth in New York, discusses research conducted with his colleagues around the state about the impact of runaway and homeless youth services on the youth who use them.

The Impact of Homeless and Runaway Youth Services in New York State on Homeless and Runaway Youth

During my time as Executive Director of the Coalition for Homeless Youth, I was also co-Principle Investigator with New York University for a three-year research study on the Impact of Homeless and Runaway Youth Services in New York State on Homeless and Runaway Youth. Managing this research project was an amazing experience and opportunity to scientifically measure the impact that services have on homeless youth.

Providing capacity building, training and policy and advocacy services to programs serving homeless youth in New York State, I and the amazing professionals serving these youth always found ourselves to be frustrated. Every year during local, state and federal budget seasons we were forced to justify the positive social and emotional impact that our programs had on the youth we were committed to serving and the communities we existed in. Out of this frustration, I finally came up with the question, “What is the Impact that Homeless and Runaway Youth Programs are Having on Homeless and Runaway Youth?” We partnered with New York University and, after a couple tries applying, New York University was funded by the William T. Grant Foundation for a three year study!

Justifying the effectiveness of the impact that Emergency Drop-In services and Transitional Living Programs have on disenfranchised youth was a necessary accomplishment for programs serving homeless and runaway youth, both in New York State and nationwide.

Here are some of the articles and reports that came out of that study:

• Understanding organizations for runaway and homeless youth: A multi-setting quantitative study of their characteristics and effects

• “Coming From the Place of Walking with the Youth—that Feeds Everything”: A Mixed Methods Case Study of a Runaway and Homeless Youth Organization

• The RHY Impact Study Moving from crisis to independence: The characteristics, quality, and impact of specialized settings for runaway and homeless youth