Homelessness Mounting Among Kids, Families

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Homelessness Mounting Among Kids, Families

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Homelessness Mounting Among Kids, Families
by Catherine Komp

Unaccompanied children and whole families are living “on the streets” in what service providers say is an obscured but growing problem.

Jan. 29 – Described as America's "dirty little secret" by social-service providers, an estimated one million young people experience homelessness each year. Many are unaccompanied teenagers, sleeping in parks, abandoned buildings or "couch surfing" at friends' houses. Others are younger children, often in the care of a single parent, who double-up in relatives' homes or in crowded shelters. The even-less fortunate live in cars, tents and under freeway overpasses.

Children and families are the fastest growing segments of the homeless population, according to advocates, who say this serious social problem driven by poverty and a scarcity of affordable housing is not widely recognized by the public.

"The reason why this isn't a priority for people is because people don't see children on the streets. It's not visible, it's not shown," said Dr. Ralph Nunez, president of the New York-based Homes for the Homeless, a group providing housing, training and employment to homeless people.

Homelessness not only affects the present family unit, Nunez said, but will "have an impact on the next generation of these young children as they begin to age into this nomadic lifestyle."

Nunez joins hundreds of national and local advocates across the country trying to amplify public dialogue about child and family homelessness, while also providing much-needed services to this growing population. The problem has become so pervasive, Nunez predicts it will take decades to address.
'Throw-Away Kids' and 'Runaways'

In and out of foster care, shelters and group homes since she was a toddler, Krystal Compagna was without stable housing for most of her life. Fleeing abusive parents with drug and alcohol addictions, she spent four years as a homeless teenager on the streets of Las Vegas.

During the day, Compagna went to school and to her job at the mall. At night, she stayed at friends' houses until their parents got suspicious, and then resorted to sleeping on porches, her school's bleachers, and even walking all night if there was nowhere else to go.

"At first I was scared, but you get used to it," Compagna, now 20, told The NewStandard. "Would you rather try to sneak back into your house and get your ass beat basically, or would you rather take your chances and hide out on the street and try to stay warm?"

According to a July 2006 report published by the Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth (NPHY) and local service providers, there are about 383 unaccompanied homeless people between ages 12 and 20 on any given day in the Las Vegas area.

Precise nationwide figures are harder to come by. The US Conference of Mayors, which releases an annual survey on hunger and homelessness, estimated that 2 percent of the homeless population in the 23 cities participating in 2006 were unaccompanied youth. The US Conference of Mayors represents leaders of cities with 30,000 people or more.
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