Runaway and Homeless Youth

September is National Disaster Preparedness Month—a time to get ready for disasters.
Violence and stress are an alarming fact of life for many homeless youth. To reduce the effects of those traumatic experiences, some youth-serving organizations have turned to mind-body practices that may help young people control disturbing emotions and behavior and lessen their anxiety and depression.
Sixteen-year-old “Jessica” of Brainerd, MN, had already been kicked out of her mother’s house and her boyfriend’s mother’s house when she got to the host home program run by Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota, which places youth who need emergency shelter with local families.
In a new issue of our quarterly periodical for youth workers, The Exchange, we focus on ways to improve self-sufficiency for runaway and homeless youth.
September is National Disaster Preparedness Month—a time to get ready for disasters.
Jordan Ryan and Alon Coleman both participate in Youth Farm and Market Project in Minneapolis, MN. They spoke with NCFY about Youth Farm's approach to youth empowerment, and how it helps youth become leaders, step-by-step.  
A survey sponsored by the Palette Fund, the True Colors Fund and the Williams Institute has confirmed what many youth workers have long believed: lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth make up a large portion of young people experiencing homelessness.
“Resiliency and Survival Skills Among Newly Homeless Adolescents: Implications for Future Interventions” (PDF, 300 KB), Vulnerable Child Youth Studies, Vol. 6, Issue 4, 2011.
Self-sufficiency is the ultimate goal for any young person who is living on the street. So how can youth workers help youth take that final step into gainful employment, stable housing or financial security? NCFY asked six experts: What are the biggest obstacles to helping youth become self-sufficient, and how do you overcome them? Read the transcript or listen to their responses:  
Like most youth workers, the staff at Common Ground crisis center in Royal Oak, MI, knew that young people were spending more and more time online. Even so, Common Ground staff have been surprised by the response to their one-on-one live chat crisis line.
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