Youth Homelessness Report Released

 The DC Alliance of Youth Advocates (DCAYA), a coalition of more than 120 youth-serving organizations, today released the first study on youth homelessness in the District.  The study,From the Streets to Stability: A study of youth homelessness in the District of Columbia, was completed over the course of two weeks in mid-March by DCAYA Senior Policy Analyst Maggie Riden and a team of volunteers.

“The DCAYA report on youth homelessness is a comprehensive analysis of the first-ever survey of homeless youth in the District, allowing policymakers and providers to better understand this population and their needs for services and supports. It is a must-read for all those who want to see D.C. youth achieve more stable and productive lives,” DCAYA Interim Executive Director Katherine Morrison said.

“The conclusions drawn from the report reaffirm the need for increased, as well as better-coordinated, services for this group of youth,” Riden said. “Investing in front-end services that provide shelter, stability and wrap-around supports to this vulnerable population at the first instance of homelessness is a necessary and worthwhile investment that will have a lasting impact on the issue of homelessness in the District.”

DCAYA drew from a variety of existing definitions of “homeless youth” developed by the National Network for Youth, the Minnesota Point in Time Count and the Baltimore Youth Point in Time Survey. Homeless youth for the purposes  From the Streets to Stability  were defined as “Children and youth through age 17 who are living apart from their parents or guardians and young adults between 18-24 who are economically or emotionally detached from their families and lack an adequate or fixed residence. This includes: children and youth who are unstably housed, living in doubled up circumstances, in transitional housing programs, emergency shelters, or on the street.”

During the two week duration, DCAYA surveyed 490 unaccompanied youth between the ages of 12 and 24. Three hundred and thirty were classified as homeless on the night they were surveyed. Of the remaining young people, 160 did not fit the definition of homelessness established by DCAYA; however 50 of those young people had been without a place to stay at some point during the two weeks prior to the survey.

“This is a population with a lot of potential,” Riden said. “With the right supports we can change the trajectory of these youth and utilize a cross-systems approach.”

A copy of the Executive Summary can be found here.

A copy of the full report can be found here.

Here is a link to an article from the Washington Post on the report.