Young People Deserve a Bed. Period.

Research has found that homelessness among young people is a fluid experience. From couch surfing to sleeping on the streets or in a shelter, the vast majority of youth do not become homeless by choice.

Specific subpopulations of youth and young adults face a higher risk for homelessness.

• Black youth face an 83% increased risk than their white peers.

• Hispanic youth face a 33% increased risk.

• LGBTQ youth were more than twice as likely to have experienced homelessness.

• Young parents—especially unmarried—had a three times higher risk than non-parenting peers.

• Youth with experiences of foster care, juvenile detention, jail, or prison.

• Youth who do not complete high school are 3.5 times more likely to experience homelessness than peers who completed a high school diploma.

*Source: https://nn4youth.org/learn/youth-homelessness/

Youth Voices Speak on Homelessness

Last school year, Wicomico County Public schools served 437 families and students in transition. Across the lower shore, youth experiencing homelessness is steadily increasing and young people are asking, “Why aren’t we doing anything about homelessness?”

On October 21, 2021, at 4:00 pm, Fenix Youth Project Inc. invites the public to attend the Youth-Led Town Hall being held at the Truitt Street Community Center to address the state of homelessness in our area and provide possible solutions. Led by young people, this town hall aims to not only provide a safe space for the community to share their personal experience but also advocate for the creation of a Bill of Rights for Citizens Experiencing Homelessness that will be created by FYP’s Youth Advisory Board (Y.A.B).

Executive Director, Amber Green is excited to partner with Salisbury University students and youth currently utilizing the Arts & Media Drop-In Center to host this event. “I think we’ve put the voices of those experiencing homelessness on the sidelines for far too long and it will take one sub-group of the vulnerable population, the youth, to provide space to another.”

Teachers, counselors, and case managers alike are asked to encourage their young people to attend this event. Food will be provided and community service hours are given to those who need it. The public is invited to this all-ages event and Fenix Youth Project is asking those who have transportation challenges to give them a call at 443-736-8028 to arrange transportation. 

Transgender Homeless Adults: What the Data Tell Us

Limited information exists about the number of transgender people experiencing homelessness. There are very few data sets relative to this population, but all the data tells a similar story: transgender people are more likely to be unsheltered than their cisgender peers, and those who are unsheltered have considerably more health and safety challenges than those who are sheltered.

Transgender individuals are disproportionately unsheltered. Sixty-three percent are living in such situations. For comparison, 49 percent of cisgender people experiencing homelessness are unsheltered.

Both Black and White unsheltered transgender people have extraordinary health and safety issues. Notably, a staggering percentage of both Black and White unsheltered transgender people engage in risky behavior: 100 percent of Black and 97% of white people.   

Unsheltered Black transgender people experiencing homelessness also average somewhat more system interactions than their unsheltered White peers 

Many transgender people already face challenges such as discrimination, rejection, and legal battles; and physical and behavioral health battles, as well. Such problems are exacerbated when they are homeless and can become life-threatening when they are unsheltered

Read more —> https://endhomelessness.org/resource/transgender-homeless-adults-unsheltered-homelessness-what-the-data-tell-us/