As I sat one Monday evening reflecting on my day watching the rainfall, I started thinking how much the world has changed, two years ago seems like a very long time ago, and four years seems like a lifetime. The temperature during the day had been scorching making you feel like you were in a skillet. The rain in the summer would be expected if I lived in the Midwest, but the humidity has started to creep into Southern California in the last couple of months. Accompanying the rainfall came a thrilling show of thunder and lightning. Once I got too wet on my patio, I walked inside. The unexpected storm made me glad to have a place to get shelter from the storm.
Although it may sound simple to walk into your home, right now, many throughout the country and world are not able to go inside. People around the world are being displaced by natural disasters, lack of housing, and economics. Unfortunately, since the problem is multiplying, likely someone close to you has experienced this personally.
During the great recession of 2008, I experienced displacement when a company I had just started working for was acquired six months after I started. Since I was a new employee, I was caught off guard and had recently recovered from being deathly ill. I stuck it out for nine months but soon found that if I continued paying for my housing and taking care of other bills, I would be in dire straits. I reached out to a friend to stay with them for a few months while I figured out what to do next and where to live without the pressure of losing money. Those few months were nerve-racking since I had always had my own place. For the first time in my life, I did not have a place to call home.
Homelessness is a growing problem in America and the world. In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) 2020 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR), it shows that 580,466 people were counted as homeless during the 2020 Point-in-Time Count, representing a 2.2% increase over 2019. These numbers mark the fourth consecutive annual increase in homelessness, following sustained reductions between 2010 and 2016.
The count took place in January 2020, in the weeks preceding the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. As such, the findings shed light on a homelessness system that was overburdened and under-resourced long before the COVID-19 pandemic forced economic disruption and housing crises on households nationwide.
The report points to a 7% increase among individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness. Two thousand twenty marks the first time that there are more individuals are living unsheltered than sheltered.
The global pandemic, which has caused instability in housing, the job market, and daily life, has only increased the problems faced by young people.
Within the larger homeless population, about 38 percent are youths and young adults 18-25 years old. Many of these young people are former foster children who have aged out of the system or left home due to instability. This often-forgotten population is the most vulnerable on the streets since they are still developing and growing into adulthood.
As 2021 closes and the world moves into the holiday season, I wanted to think about organizations trying to tackle this growing problem, so I reached out to Urban Street Angels, a San Diego-based non-profit focused on ending homelessness for young people. The organization offers vital programs such as Short-Term Bridge Housing which helps provide transitional, supportive housing and job training opportunities. The Just Be You program is an innovative program utilizing technology and holistic care to help get youth off the streets. The Youth Homelessness Demonstration program works in partnership with the Regional Taskforce for the Homeless and the Veterans Village of San Diego. The program provides 120 beds for homeless youth seeking to leave life on the streets behind for good.
To get an inside perspective, I interviewed Director of Relationship Development Jerry Troyer, who has a background in ministry and joined the non-profit to connect and assist youth on the streets.
My interview with Jerry Troyer, Director of Relationship Development
Why does America, despite its wealth, have one of the highest youth homeless populations?
I would suggest that wealth doesn't have much to do with it because it is not evenly distributed. As far as the youth are concerned, in California and I would say elsewhere, this age group, the 18- to 25-year-olds, many of them age out of foster care and have no place to go when they turn 18. For whatever reason, their foster care family won't allow them to stay in the home, so they wind up on the street. That's a big part of the reason for homelessness for this population everywhere. In San Diego, there's also the cost of living. For example, if you've grown up in Kansas City and you come to San Diego because there are lots of jobs and wonderful opportunities, and then you get out here, and you find out that that's not necessarily the case.
Then you have no place to go, and you wind up on the street. Another situation could be you've come out to your family as gay or lesbian, and they've removed you from home, so you're homeless and have to go someplace. California, especially San Diego and Los Angeles, have that draw as places for great opportunities, but living costs are very high. So that's why we're targeting this age group, the 18 -to 25 year-olds because there are very few programs specifically for them.
Mr. Troyer touches on one of the keys to the homeless population across the nation, rising housing costs and stagnant wage growth. According to Philanthropy California, the wages of extremely low-income households have stagnated as price pressures, and rental costs have increased. This housing and income gap is the underpinning of the homelessness crisis in California. Between 2017-2019, almost every county in California has experienced an increase in homelessness. During this period, Los Angeles saw a 7% increase in homelessness, San Francisco saw a 17% increase, and Alameda, Contra Costa, Orange, and San Bernardino County saw a 40% increase.
What types of conditions do youth face on the streets?
For about three years, we conducted a Tuesday night through Wednesday morning shelter drop-in shelter at a church in the North Park area of San Diego. And the youth could come in and have dinner, watch a movie, take a shower, and stay overnight. And they came indirectly from the street, and then Wednesday morning, they would get up and walk down the street and try and find a place in the park or sleep in somebody's carport. We would take a van load of youth from the ocean beach area of San Diego to our shelter on Tuesday night and then back on Wednesday morning, and often, the conversation in the van was, where are you going to sleep tonight? Will you be on the beach? Will you be in the park and take the risk of being robbed or beaten or raped or, or somehow accosted, or have your worldly goods stolen? Most of us have no concept of what it would mean if we had no place to go tonight, but it's incredibly frightening.
2018 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Homelessness report notes:
Adolescents aging out of foster care are also at extreme risk of homelessness, with around 50% becoming homeless within six months of leaving. This state of homelessness is due primarily to a lack of education, social and financial support. They are often ill-prepared to live independently.
The numbers paint a sad story. Homelessness is taking a heavy toll on America's youth, who are at a much higher risk of physical abuse, sexual exploitation, substance abuse, mental health issues, and death. In America today, over 20,000 kids are forced into prostitution every year, and 5,000 unaccompanied youth die due to assault, illness, or suicide.
Despite the gravity of the situation, resources are severely lacking. Nationwide, just 4,200 beds are provided for youth, meaning more than 90% are left without shelter. This gap in resources perpetuates a vicious cycle.
What is the number one concern you hear from homeless young people when they come for services at Urban Street Angels?
That there's structure there, and there's responsibility there. They say I'm okay and want to stay on the street, but then they have their backpack stolen, or they're attacked in the middle of the night, or something else terrible happens to them. So the concerns, I would say, and again, not the weather, not so much in San Diego. Even though, it's a hot day today; it does get pretty cool in the winter, but staying out of the weather, physical safety because they can be attacked and beaten or robbed or raped when they're in the park or a public area overnight. Those are the main things.
Then they begin to have thoughts about what am I going to do with my life? Maybe, I need to work towards something different.
It's a change for them. We have housing in three different locations for a total of about 120 youth. They are required to have a curfew; they're required to clean their room and do chores. They're required to either be employed or looking for a job or working on their education. So it's not just a place to hang out. They need to be working on their future because we are a hand-up, not a handout. So we included in that conversation when they come into the program are these rights and responsibilities. If you're going to be with us and we'd love to have you with us but, this is what you need to do. And once you get in, if you decide that you're not ready, that's okay, but you need to leave. We're providing three meals a day, a safe place to sleep, and life skills training: Money management, finding and keeping a job, getting financial aid for education, and various things that they might not have learned growing up of their family situation.
How can homeless youth get involved with Urban Street Angels?
It's an application process. We do have a waiting list because there is a great need in San Diego. I would encourage them to go to the website, and there's a referral form that they can fill out and then be placed on our waiting list. And then, our housing coordinator will reach out to them and let them know that we've received their application at www.urbanstreetangels.org.
According to Mental Illness Policy
Twenty-eight percent of homeless people with previous psychiatric hospitalizations obtained some food from garbage cans, and 8 percent used garbage cans as a primary food source. The 250,000 homeless individuals are equivalent to the population of such cities as Dayton, Ohio; Des Moines, Iowa; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Providence, Rhode Island; Richmond, Virginia; or Salt Lake City, Utah.
A 2007 survey by the National Alliance to End Homelessness reported approximately 744,000 homeless persons in the U.S. Among these, about two-thirds were single persons, and one-third were families. One-quarter of the homeless persons were said to be chronically homeless. Numerous studies have reported that approximately one-third of homeless persons have a severe mental illness, primarily schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. The percentage is higher among chronically homeless and homeless women and is lower among homeless families.
If overall one-third of homeless persons are seriously mentally ill, that means that there are approximately 250,000 homeless persons with serious mental illnesses in the U.S. At any given time, there are many more people with untreated severe psychiatric conditions living on America's streets than are receiving care in hospitals. Approximately 90,000 individuals with schizophrenia or manic-depressive illness are in all hospitals receiving treatment for their disease.
The New York Times reported that in Berkeley, California, "there are 1,000 to 1,200 people sleeping on the streets on any given night. Half of them are deinstitutionalized mentally ill people. It's like a mental ward on the streets."
Mental Illness and Subgroups
If I were on the street for more than eight hours with nowhere to go, I'd have some anxiety; I'd have some depression; I might have some PTSD. We see all of those things in many of the youth in our program. We also see schizophrenia and bipolar situations and sometimes things more severe than that. Our just B U program addresses some of the more intense mental health situations.
The most vulnerable subgroups are women and the LGBTQ+ population -especially the transgender population.
Although we work with them all within the same group, we have a close relationship with, Youth Alliance Coalition and San Diego Youth Services, and the San Diego Gay and Lesbian center. All of them are aware of our programs, and we get referrals from them regularly.
How did the pandemic contribute to the problems of homelessness? (infographic)
When you walk through the front door very often, you'll see me sitting there, and I will take your temperature and ask you if you are experiencing any COVID symptoms. We are very fortunate in our housing program that we have not had any issues related to that, but it is undoubtedly an issue and a concern. And, and of course, the vaccinations are now available from many different organizations. While we don't do outreach to the streets, the organizations encourage people to get vaccinated.
What is something radical that can make fundamental changes to this problem?
I would say work with the foster care system throughout the country to ensure a safety net for youth that age out. We should impress our young people with what it means to be an adult. Being an adult sounds fun but, it comes with a lot of responsibility, and many young people do not understand what it means and are not ready for adulthood. They don't understand the benefits of becoming an adult.
So the benefits of becoming an adult. You get to get a car; you get to have a place; you get to have a relationship; you get to be a big person, and being a big person is pretty cool. So maybe some training in our high schools that prepare youth for life.
About Urban Street Angels
Urban Street Angels began as a small group of volunteers hitting the streets of San Diego several times a month with backpacks of supplies and home-cooked meals. They quickly discovered that San Diego has many organizations and resources dedicated to feeding and supplying the homeless, but very few geared to young adults. And particularly, a critical service was missing: supportive housing and job training programs for transition-aged youth ("TAY," 18 – 25 years old) to help them off the streets with a hand up. You can find out more about Urban Street Angels at https://www.urbanstreetangels.org/about-us/.
Giving Tuesday
GivingTuesday is a global generosity movement unleashing the power of radical generosity. GivingTuesday was created in 2012 as a simple idea: a day that encourages people to do good. Since then, it has grown into a year-round global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity. Please donate to our Giving Tuesday organization at: http://www.urbanstreetangels.org/donate-2/.
About the Author
Annmarie Hylton-Schaub, Head Marketing Strategist and Content Developer at Project Good Work a boutique marketing group focused on helping individuals who want to launch social impact projects, charities, and change-making initiatives. The marketing group works to develop branding, marketing strategy, and content to connect clients with the people who believe what they believe so that their project and business can thrive.
If you have a passion for an unserved community, a social justice problem, or simply want to change minds contact Project Good Work at ProjectGood.Work to start your project of change today.