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Publication Date: 2018
Abstract
Housing-led interventions have become recognized as a best practice for addressing homelessness among adults, yet whether and how they apply to transition-age youth (TAY) is less clear. The purpose of the present study is to expand on a burgeoning literature that has provided marginalized TAY an opportunity to voice their perspectives on housing-led program design. The goal of the study it to build on the existing literature that has pr...
Publisher: Canadian Observatory on Homelessness Press
Publication Date: 2018
In almost all communities in North America, the number of youth experiencing homelessness exceeds the capacity of the housing resources available to them. This situation leaves communities with the predicament of trying to decide who to prioritize for the precious few spots available in housing programs. For adults, this same dynamic exists and many communities have turned to vulnerability assessment tools to help them make these difficult decisi...
3.7 The digital lives of youth who are homeless: Implications for intervention, policy, and services
Publisher: Canadian Observatory on Homelessness Press
Publication Date: 2018
Each year, 1.5 million to 3 million youth in the United States experience homelessness1 (Toro, Lesperance, & Braciszewski, 2011). They are considered to be one of the most marginalized groups in the country. Among the many challenges they face are acquiring health care, employment, and stable housing. It is becoming increasingly important to consider how to use information and communication technologies (ICT) to increase service engagement an...
Publication Date: 2017
Could an AI decision aid improve housing systems that assist homeless youth? There are nearly 2 million homeless youth in the United States each year. Coordinated entry systems are being used to provide homeless youth with housing assistance across the nation. Despite these efforts, the number of homeless youth still living on the street remains very high. Motivated by this fact, we initiate a first study to create AI decision aids for improving...
Publication Date: 2017
The current study assessed the relative influence of both injunctive and descriptive norms in the context of different referent groups (i.e., family, street peers, home-based peers, and staff members) on past 30-day methamphetamine, heroin, and injection drug use behaviors of homeless youth. Cross-sectional data (N = 911) were collected from three drop-in centers in Los Angeles, California. The study consisted of two parts: a social network inter...
Publication Date: 2017
This paper presents HEALER, a software agent that recommends sequential intervention plans for use by homeless shelters, who organize these interventions to raise awareness about HIV among
homeless youth. HEALER’s sequential plans (built using knowledge of social networks of homeless youth) choose intervention participants strategically to maximize influence spread, while reasoning about uncertainties in the network. While previous work presents...
Publication Date: 2017
In almost all communities in North America, the number of youth experiencing homelessness exceeds the capacity of housing resources available to youth. This situation leaves communities with the terrible predicament of trying to decide whom to prioritize for the precious few housing spots available at any given time. For adults, this same dynamic exists and many communities have turned to vulnerability assessment tools to help them make these dif...
Publication Date: 2017
Background
Permanent supportive housing (PSH) is the leading intervention to end chronic homelessness. Little is known, however, about gender differences, including potential disparities in physical and mental health and social support, that might inform services available through PSH.
Methods
This study included 421 homeless adults, at least 39 years old, English- or Spanish-speaking, who were moving into PSH through 26 different agencies in the...
Publication Date: 2016
Insane Clown Posse is a musical duo whose fans are known as Juggalos. Many homeless youths (HY) identify as Juggalos, most likely because the group’s music embraces poverty and being an outsider in mainstream society. Juggalos are stereotyped as being violent, undereducated, poor, racist, crime-committing youth, and in 2011 the FBI officially labeled Juggalos as a gang. However, little is known about the intersection of HY and Juggalos. A conveni...
Publication Date: 2016
Abstract
Homeless youth are prone to Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) due to their engagement in high risk behavior such as unprotected sex, sex under influence of drugs, and so on. Many non-profit agencies conduct interventions to educate and train a select group of homeless youth about HIV prevention and treatment practices and rely on word-of-mouth spread of information through their social network. Previous work in strategic selection of i...
Publication Date: 2016
Little is known about rates and correlates of service use or the role that social context plays in service engagement among homeless youth. This study compares two distinct service areas and uses a social network approach to examine how environmental factors (e.g., neighborhood), social factors (e.g., social capital and network engagement) and individual level factors that relate to service use patterns among homeless youth in Los Angeles, Califo...
A Social Capital Approach to Identifying Correlates of Perceived Social Support Among Homeless Youth
Publication Date: 2016
Background: The ability of homeless youth to accumulate resources through their personal relationships with others (i.e. social capital) is often associated with improved outcomes across multiple domains. Despite growing evidence documenting the heterogeneity of homeless youths’ relationships, many youth still experience adversities or lack access to resources. Thus, a more comprehensive investigation of homeless youths’ sources of social capital...
Publication Date: 2016
This paper presents HEALER, a software agent that recommends sequential intervention plans for use by homeless shelters, who organize these interventions to raise awareness about HIV among homeless youth. HEALER’s sequential plans (built using knowledge of social networks of homeless youth) choose intervention participants strategically to maximize influence spread, while reasoning about uncertainties in the network. While previous work presents...
Publication Date: 2015
This study examined social network processes related to interpersonal violence using a sample of 360 homeless youths from Los Angeles. Results indicated that violence is pervasive among homeless youths. Consistent with previous findings, hard drug use and childhood maltreatment experiences were closely related to violence experiences. Social network analyses revealed that having a higher proportion of violence-engaged peers in a youth’s network i...
Publication Date: 2015
Background
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, or questioning (LGBQ) high school students experience higher rates of homelessness than their heterosexual peers. Moreover, LGBQ high school students are more likely to stay in riskier locations (eg, with a stranger) and less likely to stay in a shelter. This study tested whether these trends also apply to middle school students.
Methods
Using representative data, we examined sexual identity and homelessne...
Organization: American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare
Publication Date: 2015
The notion that homelessness in the United States can be ended, rather than managed, represents a fundamental shift in expectations that has occurred over the past three decades. Many U.S. cities now have plans to end homelessness. Yet homelessness and housing instability are substantial problems that afflict a diverse group of subpopulations such as families, youth, veterans, and chronically homeless single adults. Ending homelessness for each o...
Publication Date: 2014
As many as 25 % of homeless persons have pets. To our knowledge, pet ownership has not been studied quantitatively with homeless youth. This study examined pet ownership among 398 homeless youth utilizing two Los Angeles drop-in centers. Twenty-three percent of homeless youth had a pet. The majority of pet owners reported that their pets kept them company and made them feel loved; nearly half reported that their pets made it more difficult to sta...
Publication Date: 2014
Little is known about the factors associated with use of employment services among homeless youth. Social network characteristics have been known to be influential in motivating people's decision to seek services. Traditional theoretical frameworks applied to studies of service use emphasize individual factors over social contexts and interactions. Using key social network, social capital, and social influence theories, this paper developed an in...
Publication Date: 2013
Little is known about internet and social media use among homeless youth. Consistent with typologies prevalent among housed youth, we found that homeless youth were using internet and social media for entertainment, sociability, and instrumental purposes. Using Haythornwaite's (2001) premise that it is important to look at the types of ties accessed in understanding the impact of new media, we found that homeless youth were predominantly using e-...
Publication Date: 2011
Research shows runaway and homeless youth are reluctant to seek help from traditional health providers. The Internet can be useful in engaging this population and meeting their needs for sexual health information, including information about HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Using a sample of homeless youth living in Los Angeles, California in June 2009, this study assesses the frequency with which runaway and homeless youth s...