Homelessness Among Juveniles in L. A. County

Homelessness Among Juveniles in Los Angeles County

Approximately 1.3 million adolescents run away from home each year in the United States. Of these young people, one-fourth become chronically homeless. Many of these youths have run away from abusive or neglectful family situations or have been rejected, forced out, or abandoned by their parents. Homeless adolescents are at high risk for drug and alcohol abuse, HIV infection, other sexually transmissible diseases, unwanted pregnancy, violence, and other problems (Unger, Kipke, Simon, Montgomery, & Johnson, 1997).

Homelessness among adolescents is particularly problematic in urban centers such as Los Angeles, California. The actual extent of the problem is unknown, but the Institute for the Study of Homelessness and Poverty (2004) estimates that unaccompanied or homeless youth, many clustering in the Hollywood area, constitute a population between 4,800 and 10,000. The problem at issue in this study is an identification of the barriers to service access and service receipt as experienced by homeless adolescents in Los Angeles County. The problem is of significance in that runaway and homeless youth are known to not seek help unless they are in a severe personal crisis (Yates, Pennridge, Swofford, & Mackenzie, 1991).

Two research hypotheses will be tested in the present study. These are:

H1: Homeless youth in Los Angeles County are likely to

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Category: Psychology - H