Homeless Youth Essay

Alone, running rampant in the cold streets, struggling and living off of crumbs is no way to live, especially as a child. For many this is an idea or something that is taken lightly because it is never a thought until it happens oneself, but for others this is how they get by, this is a way of life. Homeless youth continues to be a modern tragedy, with over 2 million homeless teens world wide: fortunately the Covenant House and other programs exist to keep youth off the streets and help decrease and prevent further problems.
To truly understand the meaning of what it means to be homeless people must first know the definition of “homeless youth” and the common reasons that they are forced to leave their homes. A homeless teen is described as someone who is “unaccompanied, under the age of eighteen, and lacks parental, foster, and institutional care”

They are not only in the streets unsupervised and left alone in the against the world, but they are at risk for depression, suicide, drug use, and even death. The amount of children that suffer from these consequences are large, sources have shown that twenty to thirty percent of homeless youth are arrested and part of this is due to a big piece of the population of teens that sell drugs to get by. As for depression and suicide, over sixty-one point eight percent of children that are homeless reported being depressed and there is an estimated five thousand homeless teens die each year due to a mixture of assault, illness, and suicide. Knowing these facts and statistics are important so that there can be more awareness as well as prevention for and about homeless youth. This would help keep more youth off the street and have more productive members in different communities. The amount of help that the homeless youth could contribute would be tremendous and could make a big impact for the