Unaccompanied homeless youth (< 25 years of age) are the group most likely to be underreported in annual point-in-time (PIT) counts of unsheltered individuals. This practice note reviews the process of a collaborative partnership between a university and community to conduct a successful youth PIT count outreach that more accurately reflected the number of homeless youth. In addition to almost doubling the number of unsheltered homeless youth who were identified between 2013 and 2014, several positive outcomes for students, providers, and faculty resulted through the project's efforts. These outcomes, including increased student exposure and interest in this vulnerable population, are reviewed.
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3.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2015). HIV among youth [Web page]. Retrieved from www.cdc.gov/hiv/group/age/youth
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CollinsJ., & SlesnickN. (2011). Factors associated with motivation to change HIV risk and substance use behaviors among homeless youth. Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions, 11(2), 163–180. doi: 10.1080/1533256X.2011.570219
5.
GaetzS. (2009). Whose safety counts? Street youth, social exclusion, and criminal victimization. In HulchanskiJ. D., CampsieP., ChauS. B. Y., HwangS. H., & ParadisE. (Eds.), Finding home: Policy options for addressing homelessness in Canada (E-book). Toronto, ON: Cities Centre Press, University of Toronto.
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HeerdeJ. A., & HemphillS. A. (2015). Sexual risk behaviors, sexual offenses, and sexual victimization among homeless youth: A systematic review of associations with substance use. Trauma Violence Abuse. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1177/1524838015584371
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KarabanowJ. (2004). Being young and homeless: Understanding how youth enter and exit street life.New York, NY: Peter Lang Publishing.
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KennedyD. P., TuckerJ. S., GreenH. D., GolinelliD., & EwingB. (2012). Unprotected sex of homeless youth: Results from a multilevel dyadic analysis of individual, social network, and relationship factors. AIDS and Behavior, 16(7), 2015–2032. doi: 10.1007/s10461-012-0195-0
OberA. J., MartinoS. C., EwingB., & TuckerJ. S. (2012). If you provide the test, they will take it: Factors associated with HIV/ STI testing in a representative sample of homeless youth in Los Angeles. AIDS Education and Prevention, 24(4), 350–362. doi:101521aeap2012244350
StewartA. J., SteimanM., CauceA. M., CochranB. N., WhitbeckL. B., & HoytD. R. (2004). Victimization and posttraumatic stress disorder among homeless adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 43(3), 325–331. doi: 10.1097/01.chi.0000106852.88132.c8
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TevendaleH. D., LightfootM., & SlocumS. L. (2009). Individual and environmental protective factors for risky sexual behavior among homeless youth: An exploration of gender differences. AIDS and Behavior, 13(1), 154–164. doi: 10.1007/s10461-008-9395-z
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TylerK., & BealM. R. (2010). The high-risk environment of homeless young adults: Consequences for physical and sexual victimization. Violence and Victims, 25(1), 101–115. doi: 10.1891/0886-6708.25.1.101
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TylerK. A., HoytD. R., & WhitbeckL. B. (2000). The effects of early child sexual abuse on later sexual victimization among female homeless and runaway youth. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 15(3), 235–250. doi: 10.1177/088626000015003001
