A GROUP PORTRAIT EMERGES OF THE YOUNG AND HOMELESS

The most comprehensive study of youth homelessness in New York City in decades was released recently, providing what some say is the first realistic account of one of the city’s most vulnerable and misunderstood populations. According to a report by the Empire State Coalition of Youth and Family Services, on any given day there are more than 3,800 young people under the age of 24 living without a home – and up to 13,400 or more over the course of a year. Those involved in the project say the report should finally give both public officials and service providers a point of reference on the issue of youth homelessness, and hope the new information will lead to improved services for homeless youth. Previous estimates, after all, had put the number of homeless young people at more like 20,000. “This study answers a lot of questions we had and confirms a lot of what we were thinking,” said City Councilman Lewis A. Fidler, the Youth Services Committee chairman who was responsible for allocating funding for the report. The difference, Fidler added, is that now the information is there in black and white for everybody to see. One of the report’s most striking findings, say youth service professionals, is the significant overrepresentation of certain marginalized populations among the ranks of homeless youth in the city—particularly those who identify themselves either as black, or as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT), or those who have experience in the foster care and criminal justice systems. Almost half of respondents identified as black and close to a third identified as homosexual or bisexual. More than a quarter reported time spent in foster care, jail or prison. “The doors are opened and they’re let out without any preparation for living the next day,” said Margo Hirsch, executive director of the Empire State Coalition of Youth and Family Services. Additionally, half of the young people interviewed for the report did not have a high school diploma or GED. “Many of these young people haven’t been in school past the third or fourth grade,” said David Nish, associate vice president of youth programs at Safe Horizon, a city-based nonprofit that operates a homeless and "street-involved" youth program. The average age of respondents was 20, and their average duration of homelessness was over two years.

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