Runaway and Homeless Youth

As part of their quest to put youth on the road to self-sufficiency and independence, the Family and Youth Service Bureau’s runaway and homeless youth programs provide education and employment assistance to the young people they serve. This issue of The Exchange explores how youth-serving agencies are linking education and employment to create brighter futures for runaway and homeless youth.
Make your first priority addressing young people's basic needs, such as food and shelter. Give youth the information they need to make their own decisions about whether the GED is right for them. Help students create their own timeline for preparing for and taking the tests, based on individual ability and circumstances. Some youth may need a few months to prepare while...
Six months after running away from home, Jon had become an accomplished couch surfer. He knew what friends to call and when he had overstayed his welcome. But moving from apartment to apartment had taken a toll on his education and his health. At 17 and a senior in high school, Jon was ready to find something more safe and stable, something more like home. He wound up on the doorstep of Rose, an...
Would Native youth in your community benefit from a host home program?  Some ideas for getting started: 1. Find out who is already working with at-risk, homeless, or transitional youth in your community or in nearby towns.
When working with homeless or in-transition Native American youth, remember: All Native American youth are not the same. Some are highly acculturated to mainstream society; others may not be. Some want to maintain a strong connection with their Tribal culture; others may not. All Tribes are not the same.
Programs around the country are easing the transition to adulthood for runaway and homeless youth. Through the Family and Youth Services Bureau’s Transitional Living Program for Older Homeless Youth, more than 5,000 runaway and homeless youth a year receive housing, life skills training, counseling, and education and employment support from local organizations.
Like thousands of young people in the United States each year, Catherine* couldn't go home. Last year, at age 16, she learned she was pregnant, and her parents asked her to leave.
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National Clearinghouse on Families & Youth | 5515 Security Lane, Suite 800 | North Bethesda, MD 20852 | (301) 608-8098 | ncfy@acf.hhs.gov