Honoring, Supporting, and Empowering:

HONORING,
SUPPORTING, AND
EMPOWERING:
Approaches to
Working With
Young People
Who are
Experiencing
Homelessness
WHO ARE THE YOUTH?
There are 8,000 youth
experiencing homelessness in
Albuquerque.
(APS Homelessness Project)
WHO ARE THE YOUTH?
200-300 young people are aging out
of foster care.
(New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department)
DEFINITIONS & TERMS
FEDERAL definition-- the Administration for Children & Families:
Family & Youth Services Bureau
 HOMELESS Basic Center Services/Youth Shelter - Less than 18 years of age
 Transitional Living Programs- Less than 22 years of age
 “For whom it is not possible to live in a safe environment with a
relative; and who has no other safe alternative living arrangement ”
(Runaway Homeless Youth Act, 2008)
 RUNAWAY YOUTH
 “An individual who is less than 18 years of age and who absents
himself or herself from home or a place of legal residence without
permission of a parent or legal guardian.” (RHY Act, 2008)
DEFINITIONS & TERMS
 STREET YOUTH
 “An individual who is a runaway or indefinitely or intermittently a
homeless youth and spends a significant amount of time on the
street or in other areas that increase the risk to such youth for sexual
abuse, sexual exploitation, prostitution, or drug abuse.” (RHY Act,
2008)
 YOUTH AT RISK OF SEPARATION FROM THE FAMILY
 Under 18 and has a history of running away:
 Whose parent, guardian, or custodian is not willing to provide for the basic
needs of such individual; or
 Who is at risk of entering the child welfare system or juvenile justice as a
result of the lack of services available to the family to meet such needs.
DEFINITIONS & TERMS
M C KI N NEY- VE NTO AC T
 “Lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence” for
children and youth
 Sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing,
economic hardship; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or
camping grounds due to the lack of alternative accommodations;
are living in emergency or transitional shelters; are abandoned
in hospitals; or are awaiting foster care placement;
 Children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that
is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as
a regular sleeping accommodation not designed for humans
 Children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces,
abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations,
or similar settings; and
 Migrator y children who qualify as homeless by the above
information (McKinney -Vento Act)
THE POWER OF LANGUAGE
Power of Language
 Using person first language
 Talking about homelessness as an EXPERIENCE rather than a
state of being
 Refraining from using “kid” or “kids” as a way of addressing or
talking about young people. This can feel invalidating and
patronizing to the individual.
 Words are powerful and can carry a heavy weight. Consider if
the words you choose to use are breaking down stigma or
holding it up.
YOUNG PEOPLE’S EXPERIENCE
- Kicked out of their home of origin because of sexual
orientation or gender identity
- Mandated to not return home due to concern for safety
and well-being
- Guardians are deceased or incarcerated
- Abandoned by family
- A ging out of the foster care system
- Seeking safety from an unsafe home due to violence,
sexual abuse, or addiction
WHO ARE THE YOUTH?
Breakdown by race/ethnicity of the youth
who stayed at the New Day’s Shelter in
2014:
49% Hispanic
20% White Non-Hispanic
16% American Indian
8% Multi-ethnic
6% African American
1% Other
WHO ARE THE YOUTH?
 Of youth experiencing homelessness 40% identify as LGBTQ
 46% of LGBT youth leave home because of family rejection of
sexual orientation or gender identity
 As many as 1 in 5 transgender people need or are at risk of
needing homeless assistance, but in most shelters are housed
by sex assigned at birth rather than gender identity
 1 in 3 transgender youth will be turned away from a shelter
due to their gender identity/expression
WHO ARE THE YOUTH?
 Have children
 Abandoned youth
 Undocumented youth
 Youth in recovery
 Young people involved with the juvenile justice
system
 Youth facing mental health struggles
 Young people engaged in survival sex
What do the challenges that young people
experiencing homelessness look like?
CHALLENGES FACING YOUTH
Youth under 18
 Lack of individual autonomy
 Inability to act as own guardian
 Limited ability to have an income
 Limited ability access various services without a
guardian present
 Unable to sign a lease for house
CHALLENGES FACING YOUTH
Over 18
 Loss of youth support services from known systems
 Entrance into and navigation of the adult system
 Risk factors increase, protective factors decrease
 Expectation that there is ability to access varying
avenues of stability
CHALLENGES FACING YOUTH
General
 Stereotypes about young people: deceitful, lazy, criminal,
scary or dangerous, and drug addicted
 Invisibility
 32% of young people experiencing homeless have attempted
suicide
 More than 1 in 3 engage in survival sex, 48 % of them trade
sex for food or a place to stay
 LGBT youth are 3 times more likely to have engaged in
survival sex
 1 in 3 youth on the street will be lured into sex work within 48
hours of leaving home
THE FOUNDATION OF WORKING WITH
YOUTH
BE READY TO Honor a young person’s individual strengths (even
in the face of seeming overwhelming challenges)
 Celebrate successes, no matter what size
 Build individual inner wealth
 Be culturally competent: culture is vast!
APPROACHES THAT WORK
- Positive Youth Development
- Individualized Service Planning
- Trauma Informed
- Collaborative Care Coordination
- Building protective factors and reducing risk
factors
POSITIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
KEY ELEMENTS
 Youth are viewed as a valued and respected asset to
society;
 Policies and programs focus on the evolving developmental
needs and tasks of adolescents, and involve youth as
partners rather than clients;
 Families, schools and communities are engaged in
developing environments that support youth;
 Adolescents are involved in activities that enhance their
competence, connections, character, confidence and
contribution to society;
 Adolescents are provided an opportunity to experiment in a
safe environment and to develop positive social values and
norms; and Adolescents are engaged in activities that
promote self-understanding, self-worth.
( h t t p : / / w w w. ny d ic .o r g / ny d ic / d ev d e f .h t m l )
INDIVIDUALIZED APPROACH
Standardized-Agency
Focused
Individualized- Youth
Focused
 Outcomes and goals
tailored to needs of the
agency
 All young people are
treated the same
 Each young person’s service
plan looks very similar
 Program guidelines are set
and fairly rigid
 Outcomes and goals
tailored to needs of the
individual
 A young person is honored
for their individual
strengths
 Each young person’s service
plan will be uniquely theirs
 Program guidelines are
flexible and are focused on
meeting young person
where they are
TRAUMA’S DUAL INFLUENCE ON
DEVELOPMENT
Prioritization of those domains of skill,
competency, adaptation—which will
help the child survive their environment
and meet physical emotional and
rational needs.
AND
De-emphasis of domains of
development which are less
immediately relevant to
survival
COLLABORATIVE CARE COORDINATION
WRAPAROUND
 The wraparound process is an evidenced -based technique that
allows for individualized methods of approaching a young
person’s unique set of needs and goals
 Focuses on forming a team of supports that will act together
to help meet a young person’s individual needs
 Team members can include friends, family, teachers, coaches,
therapists, and JPOs – both natural and system supports
 Young person defines their own personal vision
 The team identifies their strengths, needs and strategies to
use their resources and strengths to best meet their needs
and move toward their vision
BUILDING PROTECTIVE FACTORS
REDUCING RISK FACTORS
Protective Factors
I n divid ual/ Family P ro te c t ive Fa c to r s
 Co n n ec tedn ess to fa m i ly o r a dul t s
o ut s i de t h e fa m i l y
 Po s it ive s o c i al o ri e n t at ion
 Re l i giosity
 Abi l it y to di s c us s pro bl e m s w i t h
pa re n t s
 Pe rc e i ved pa re n t a l ex pe c t a t i ons
a bo ut s c h o ol pe r fo rm a n ce
 Fre q ue n t s h a re d a c t i v it ies w i t h
pa re n ts
 Invo lvemen t i n s o c i al a c t i v it ies
 Pe e r/ So c ial P ro te c t ive Fa c to r s
 Co m mit ment to s c h o ol
 Invo lvemen t i n s o c i al a c t i v it ies
Risk Factors
I n divid ual R i s k Fa c to r s
 H i s tor y o f v i o lent v i c t i miza tio n
 H i s tor y o f e a rl y a g g re s sive be h av io r
 Invo lvemen t w i t h drug s , a l c o h ol o r
to ba c c o
 Po o r be h av i oral c o n t ro l
 D e fi c it s i n s o c i al c o g n i t ive o r
i n fo rmat ion - pro c essing a bi l i ties
 H i g h e m ot i o nal di s t re ss
 Pe e r/ So c ial R i s k Fa c to r s
 As s oc iat ion w i t h de l i n quent pe e r s
 So c i a l re j e c t io n by pe e r s
 La c k o f i nvolvement i n c o nve ntional
a c t i vit ies
 Po o r a c a de m ic pe r fo rm a nc e
 Low c o m m it ment to s c h o ol a n d
s c h o ol fa i l ure
“Building protective factors (resiliency)
and reducing risk factors is one of the
primary interventions to end youth
homelessness by 2020.”
U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, 2013
ACTIVITY
Why do you think
these approaches are most effective?
CURRENT HOUSING & RHY RESOURCES
IN ALBUQUERQUE
 NEW DAY- ( 5 0 5 ) - 2 6 0 - 9 91 2
 Safe Home (shelter)- 12-18
 Transitional Living- 17-22
 Youth Development, Inc .,
( 5 0 5 ) 877 - 0 371
 Amistad (shelter)- 12-18
 Casa Hermosa (transitional living)- 16-22
 Street Outreach
 Open Skies
 Casa Encantada (505) 341-3703 (transitional living)- 17-19
 Casa Q
( 5 0 5 ) - 87 2 - 2 0 9 9
 Group home setting that is LGBTQ affirming - 13-18
TRANSITIONS ARE HARD!
Call for HELP!
 To create bridges for our young people we need to
gain more understanding of adult systems such
as:
- Housing
- Behavioral health
- General healthcare
- Human services
- Disability and social security
- Employment assistance
OUR INFORMATION
Brooke Tafoya, Director of Housing, New Day Youth & Family Ser vices
505-260-9912
bhtafoya@ndnm.org
Quinn Donnay, TLP Program Manager, New Day Youth & Family
Ser vices
505-270-8608
qdonnay@ndnm.org