Homelessness is Not Having a Stable Place of Peace

Founder of Good Riddance Consulting, Khalique is a social entrepreneur who works on social impact initiatives in the State of Minnesota. He focuses on amplifying the voices of youth and community using a data-driven human approach. Having first-hand experience with homelessness at a young age, he recognizes the importance of having the people who are facing the problems contribute to designing the solutions. As healthcare organizations develop programs to combat youth homelessness, understanding the conditions that lead to youth homelessness, the experience of homelessness itself, and the resources that youth need to achieve stable housing will be critical if the programs are to meet youth needs. The responses of the 32 individuals I surveyed and interviewed in homeless camps during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 might help them achieve this understanding. In addition to being currently homeless, these individuals also experienced homelessness during their youth, adolescence, or early adulthood. As might be expected from national data, most identified as Black, American Indian, Asian, or as a combination of multiple races. Half of the respondents first experienced homelessness before the age of 18 and three-quarters of the respondents had experienced homelessness for a year or more. Many had left home because of violence or sexual exploitation. As one young woman explained to me, “My

By Khalique Rogers

adoptive dad was sexually inappropriate with me and very religiously abusive and got full custody of me in the divorce, so I left.” A young man told me he left home because of “fighting with mom [sic] boyfriend.” My respondents emphasized their sense of loneliness: “Nobody cares,” and “Understanding your [sic] in this position alone. All year long. No one to offer help.” Homelessness was interfering with their educational aspirations: “I’m not able to go to school because I have no place to live. No food to eat so I have no way of studying or focusing on school,” and, “Ended up in jail. Had to get a GED.” Being caught up in the criminal justice system was also a barrier to finding housing: “Sometimes you can get put in situations you never thought you would be in. You can end up with a felony and there isn’t any real help when it comes down to housing with a felony.” In addition to describing the problems they experienced because of homelessness, the survey respondents offered solutions. For example, one respondent suggested, “teach how to find help.” Another suggested, “bring them to a center, not jail.” Yet another asked to “[give us] a second chance.” Regarding physical, mental, and behavioral health service, a respondent advised, “promote treatment, they are kids without help.” Healthcare providers need to know that youth homelessness is prevalent and increasing: In Minnesota, the number of homeless youth counted by Wilder Research on their single-night count in 2018 exceeded the total number of homeless they counted in 1991. Some counts find that one in 10 young adults ages 18-25, and at least one in 30 adolescents ages 13-17, experience some form of homelessness unaccompanied by a parent or guardian over the course of a year. Rather than being on the street, many youth “couch surf” with friends or relatives. Failure to find a safe place to sleep opens the door to sexual predators. The needs identified by the individuals I interviewed mirror the United States Interagency on Homelessness (USICH) framework. This framework describes four core outcome goals for youth: stable housing, permanent connections, education/employment, and social-emotional well-being. It recommends seven actions to prevent and end youth homelessness: • Prevent youth from becoming homeless by identifying and working with families who are at risk of fracturing. • Effectively identify and engage youth at risk for, or actually experiencing,

homelessness and connect them with trauma-informed, culturally appropriate, and developmentally and age-appropriate interventions. • Intervene early when youth do become homeless and work toward family reunification, when safe and appropriate. • Develop coordinated entry systems to identify youth for appropriate types of assistance and to prioritize resources for the most vulnerable youth. • Ensure access to safe shelter and emergency services when needed. • Ensure that assessments respond to the unique needs and circumstances of youth and emphasize strong connections to and supported exits from mainstream systems when needed. • Create individualized services and housing options tailored to the needs of each youth, and include measurable outcomes across key indicators of performance, including education and employment. (United States Interagency Council on

Homelessness, 2015) Interventions that healthcare organizations might sponsor with success include: prevention programs for youth transitioning out of juvenile justice or foster care; family strengthening; transitional, supportive, and subsidized housing; individual or group counseling or treatment; non-housing case management and support; economic and employment programs; and outreach and service connection. These interventions have been found to reduce substance use and generate positive connections,

Some counts find that one in 10 young adults ages 18-25, and at least one in 30 adolescents ages 13-17, experience some form of homelessness unaccompanied by a parent or guardian over the course of a year.

education, employment, and social-emotional well-being. Healthcare organizations benefit when they reduce youth homelessness because doing so reduces hospitalization rates. In addition to describing the needs of homeless youth, the USICH website advises interested parties to “pay attention to factors that contribute to youth homelessness specifically.” Among the most powerful social determinants of youth homelessness are persistently high unemployment and low wages associated with racialized organizations; disparities and discrimination in educational opportunity; an inadequate stock of affordable housing, “redlining,” and predatory extraction of value from Black communities; and, particularly for young Black and Latino men, a criminal justice system that “hyper-criminalizes” their lives, brands them for a lifetime as a criminal, and disrupts the structure and lives of Black families. Until these “causes of the causes” of youth homelessness are addressed, the system will continue to pump youth, particularly Black and Latino males, out onto the street. When developing programs to eliminate youth homelessness, it is essential to develop with the youth rather than for the youth. Healthcare organizations might consider following my example of promoting the work of youth advisory councils. I start with a youth led steering committee of five to seven young people who then identify 2-3 key issues they want to amplify to the greater community. I strive to give youth the tools to address systemic and structural barriers and create upward mobility opportunities for African American and Native youth. Fighting injustice and striving for justice while working within systems, my goal is to create a generation of youth change leaders who will build a sustainable framework and move the culture toward a brighter future for generations to come.

Khalique Rogers, Good Riddance, LLC, Minneapolis, Minnesota.