HONORING, SUPPORTING, AND EMPOWERING: Approaches to Working With Young People Who are Experiencing Homelessness WHO ARE THE YOUTH? There are 8,000 youth experiencing homelessness in Albuquerque. (APS Homelessness Project) WHO ARE THE YOUTH? 200-300 young people are aging out of foster care. (New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department) DEFINITIONS & TERMS FEDERAL definition-- the Administration for Children & Families: Family & Youth Services Bureau  HOMELESS Basic Center Services/Youth Shelter - Less than 18 years of age  Transitional Living Programs- Less than 22 years of age  “For whom it is not possible to live in a safe environment with a relative; and who has no other safe alternative living arrangement ” (Runaway Homeless Youth Act, 2008)  RUNAWAY YOUTH  “An individual who is less than 18 years of age and who absents himself or herself from home or a place of legal residence without permission of a parent or legal guardian.” (RHY Act, 2008) DEFINITIONS & TERMS  STREET YOUTH  “An individual who is a runaway or indefinitely or intermittently a homeless youth and spends a significant amount of time on the street or in other areas that increase the risk to such youth for sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, prostitution, or drug abuse.” (RHY Act, 2008)  YOUTH AT RISK OF SEPARATION FROM THE FAMILY  Under 18 and has a history of running away:  Whose parent, guardian, or custodian is not willing to provide for the basic needs of such individual; or  Who is at risk of entering the child welfare system or juvenile justice as a result of the lack of services available to the family to meet such needs. DEFINITIONS & TERMS M C KI N NEY- VE NTO AC T  “Lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence” for children and youth  Sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; are abandoned in hospitals; or are awaiting foster care placement;  Children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation not designed for humans  Children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and  Migrator y children who qualify as homeless by the above information (McKinney -Vento Act) THE POWER OF LANGUAGE Power of Language  Using person first language  Talking about homelessness as an EXPERIENCE rather than a state of being  Refraining from using “kid” or “kids” as a way of addressing or talking about young people. This can feel invalidating and patronizing to the individual.  Words are powerful and can carry a heavy weight. Consider if the words you choose to use are breaking down stigma or holding it up. YOUNG PEOPLE’S EXPERIENCE - Kicked out of their home of origin because of sexual orientation or gender identity - Mandated to not return home due to concern for safety and well-being - Guardians are deceased or incarcerated - Abandoned by family - A ging out of the foster care system - Seeking safety from an unsafe home due to violence, sexual abuse, or addiction WHO ARE THE YOUTH? Breakdown by race/ethnicity of the youth who stayed at the New Day’s Shelter in 2014: 49% Hispanic 20% White Non-Hispanic 16% American Indian 8% Multi-ethnic 6% African American 1% Other WHO ARE THE YOUTH?  Of youth experiencing homelessness 40% identify as LGBTQ  46% of LGBT youth leave home because of family rejection of sexual orientation or gender identity  As many as 1 in 5 transgender people need or are at risk of needing homeless assistance, but in most shelters are housed by sex assigned at birth rather than gender identity  1 in 3 transgender youth will be turned away from a shelter due to their gender identity/expression WHO ARE THE YOUTH?  Have children  Abandoned youth  Undocumented youth  Youth in recovery  Young people involved with the juvenile justice system  Youth facing mental health struggles  Young people engaged in survival sex What do the challenges that young people experiencing homelessness look like? CHALLENGES FACING YOUTH Youth under 18  Lack of individual autonomy  Inability to act as own guardian  Limited ability to have an income  Limited ability access various services without a guardian present  Unable to sign a lease for house CHALLENGES FACING YOUTH Over 18  Loss of youth support services from known systems  Entrance into and navigation of the adult system  Risk factors increase, protective factors decrease  Expectation that there is ability to access varying avenues of stability CHALLENGES FACING YOUTH General  Stereotypes about young people: deceitful, lazy, criminal, scary or dangerous, and drug addicted  Invisibility  32% of young people experiencing homeless have attempted suicide  More than 1 in 3 engage in survival sex, 48 % of them trade sex for food or a place to stay  LGBT youth are 3 times more likely to have engaged in survival sex  1 in 3 youth on the street will be lured into sex work within 48 hours of leaving home THE FOUNDATION OF WORKING WITH YOUTH BE READY TO Honor a young person’s individual strengths (even in the face of seeming overwhelming challenges)  Celebrate successes, no matter what size  Build individual inner wealth  Be culturally competent: culture is vast! APPROACHES THAT WORK - Positive Youth Development - Individualized Service Planning - Trauma Informed - Collaborative Care Coordination - Building protective factors and reducing risk factors POSITIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT KEY ELEMENTS  Youth are viewed as a valued and respected asset to society;  Policies and programs focus on the evolving developmental needs and tasks of adolescents, and involve youth as partners rather than clients;  Families, schools and communities are engaged in developing environments that support youth;  Adolescents are involved in activities that enhance their competence, connections, character, confidence and contribution to society;  Adolescents are provided an opportunity to experiment in a safe environment and to develop positive social values and norms; and Adolescents are engaged in activities that promote self-understanding, self-worth. ( h t t p : / / w w w. ny d ic .o r g / ny d ic / d ev d e f .h t m l ) INDIVIDUALIZED APPROACH Standardized-Agency Focused Individualized- Youth Focused  Outcomes and goals tailored to needs of the agency  All young people are treated the same  Each young person’s service plan looks very similar  Program guidelines are set and fairly rigid  Outcomes and goals tailored to needs of the individual  A young person is honored for their individual strengths  Each young person’s service plan will be uniquely theirs  Program guidelines are flexible and are focused on meeting young person where they are TRAUMA’S DUAL INFLUENCE ON DEVELOPMENT Prioritization of those domains of skill, competency, adaptation—which will help the child survive their environment and meet physical emotional and rational needs. AND De-emphasis of domains of development which are less immediately relevant to survival COLLABORATIVE CARE COORDINATION WRAPAROUND  The wraparound process is an evidenced -based technique that allows for individualized methods of approaching a young person’s unique set of needs and goals  Focuses on forming a team of supports that will act together to help meet a young person’s individual needs  Team members can include friends, family, teachers, coaches, therapists, and JPOs – both natural and system supports  Young person defines their own personal vision  The team identifies their strengths, needs and strategies to use their resources and strengths to best meet their needs and move toward their vision BUILDING PROTECTIVE FACTORS REDUCING RISK FACTORS Protective Factors I n divid ual/ Family P ro te c t ive Fa c to r s  Co n n ec tedn ess to fa m i ly o r a dul t s o ut s i de t h e fa m i l y  Po s it ive s o c i al o ri e n t at ion  Re l i giosity  Abi l it y to di s c us s pro bl e m s w i t h pa re n t s  Pe rc e i ved pa re n t a l ex pe c t a t i ons a bo ut s c h o ol pe r fo rm a n ce  Fre q ue n t s h a re d a c t i v it ies w i t h pa re n ts  Invo lvemen t i n s o c i al a c t i v it ies  Pe e r/ So c ial P ro te c t ive Fa c to r s  Co m mit ment to s c h o ol  Invo lvemen t i n s o c i al a c t i v it ies Risk Factors I n divid ual R i s k Fa c to r s  H i s tor y o f v i o lent v i c t i miza tio n  H i s tor y o f e a rl y a g g re s sive be h av io r  Invo lvemen t w i t h drug s , a l c o h ol o r to ba c c o  Po o r be h av i oral c o n t ro l  D e fi c it s i n s o c i al c o g n i t ive o r i n fo rmat ion - pro c essing a bi l i ties  H i g h e m ot i o nal di s t re ss  Pe e r/ So c ial R i s k Fa c to r s  As s oc iat ion w i t h de l i n quent pe e r s  So c i a l re j e c t io n by pe e r s  La c k o f i nvolvement i n c o nve ntional a c t i vit ies  Po o r a c a de m ic pe r fo rm a nc e  Low c o m m it ment to s c h o ol a n d s c h o ol fa i l ure “Building protective factors (resiliency) and reducing risk factors is one of the primary interventions to end youth homelessness by 2020.” U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, 2013 ACTIVITY Why do you think these approaches are most effective? CURRENT HOUSING & RHY RESOURCES IN ALBUQUERQUE  NEW DAY- ( 5 0 5 ) - 2 6 0 - 9 91 2  Safe Home (shelter)- 12-18  Transitional Living- 17-22  Youth Development, Inc ., ( 5 0 5 ) 877 - 0 371  Amistad (shelter)- 12-18  Casa Hermosa (transitional living)- 16-22  Street Outreach  Open Skies  Casa Encantada (505) 341-3703 (transitional living)- 17-19  Casa Q ( 5 0 5 ) - 87 2 - 2 0 9 9  Group home setting that is LGBTQ affirming - 13-18 TRANSITIONS ARE HARD! Call for HELP!  To create bridges for our young people we need to gain more understanding of adult systems such as: - Housing - Behavioral health - General healthcare - Human services - Disability and social security - Employment assistance OUR INFORMATION Brooke Tafoya, Director of Housing, New Day Youth & Family Ser vices 505-260-9912 bhtafoya@ndnm.org Quinn Donnay, TLP Program Manager, New Day Youth & Family Ser vices 505-270-8608 qdonnay@ndnm.org