Too Big To Ignore: Youth Homelessness in California

The California Coalition for Youth and the John Burton Foundation and the are pleased to announce the release of our policy report, Too Big to Ignore: Youth Homelessness in California. The report outlines a policy agenda focused on drastically reducing homelessness among youth ages 16 to 24 in three years. The agenda includes recommended policy changes at the local, state, and federal levels. To download the report, click here. To request a hard copy of the report, e-mailadvocacy@calyouth.org. The report is also the first step in a two-year effort launched on October 1, 2009, the Homeless Youth Capacity Building Project. The Project seeks to  reduce youth homelessness through advocacy, organizing, and capacity building.

Based on national estimates of youth homelessness, California is home to potentially a half-million homeless youth ages 12-24. These youth are the most vulnerable of the homeless population. Homeless youth come from all races and ethnic groups and from all parts of the state. They are often escaping personal danger or have been kicked out and told not to return. For many youth on the streets, there is no question of returning home; for them, the streets are more welcoming than the home they fled. While homeless, youth fall through the cracks between services provided to other populations.

The needs of California’s homeless youth are overwhelming and diverse but to date, no branch of California state government is mandated to provide direct services to homeless youth and there is no statewide plan, strategy or funding for homeless youth programs. Though services for homeless youth throughout the state do exist, they are underfunded and often times, underutilized. It is estimated that 10% of homeless youth never access services due to a variety of barriers. More recently, homeless youth have been left out of the recent expansion of youth-serving programs in California, forcing them to “nibble at the edges” of services, rather than have access to programs designed with them in mind.

This year, the California Coalition for Youth is launching a major advocacy initiative in partnership withThe John Burton Foundation and based on research from the California Research Bureau to address the disparity of services provided to homeless youth throughout California. We will work with service providers, government officials, policy makers, and other stakeholders to identify advocacy priorities to ensure that homeless youth have access to the programs, resources and services they need to have successful lives.

We will develop a coordinated statewide plan to provide a system of care that prevents youth homelessness and serves young people who are already homeless by improving the coordination of existing services and facilitating collaboration to identify gaps, remove barriers, improve access and share information.

For more information, please contact:
Heather M. Dearing, MSW
Executive Director
heather@calyouth.org
(916) 340-0505