Three Rules for Working With Unaccompanied Youth

“Before I took this job, I wasn’t aware that Billings, Montana, had a population of homeless youth,” says Tracie Musso, street outreach program coordinator at the city’s Tumblewood Runaway Program. A former teacher, Musso says she learned on the job how to work with homeless youth. Here’s what she and others told us:

1. Learn to “just hang out.” Leave your agenda and your insecurities at the door, Musso says, and just listen to what youth have to say. “What every one of these kids wants is to be heard.”

2. Don’t assume all unaccompanied youth are the same. There are youth who live on the streets by choice, and youth who regret ever leaving home. There are youth who left home by choice, and youth who were told “Don’t come back” by parents or guardians. There are youth who’ve slept on couches, and youth who’ve slept on park benches. There are youth who’ve been in and out of group homes and shelters for years, and youth who are on their own for the first time.

3. Treat youth with kindness and dignity. When working with street youth, says Kelli Brower, director of community relations for Florida Keys Children’s Shelter, in Tavernier. “We respect their decisions. We just want to make them as safe as possible.”