National Runway and Homeless Youth Prevention Month

November is National Runaway and Homeless Youth Prevention Month. Between 1.6 and 2.8 million youth run away annually, and approximately 4.2 million young adults experience some form of homelessness each year. If all of these young people lived in one city, it would be the fifth largest city in the United States.

Runaway and homeless youth often do not look like the stereotype of an adult homeless person. They try to hide their situation; therefore, the issue remains primarily invisible because they are experts at hiding their homelessness for fear of being reported. Most youth who run away do so because of threatening environments at home, such as physical/verbal abuse, neglect, substance abuse issues, questions of sexual orientation, or escaping state care. Unfortunately, by choosing to run away, they further subject themselves to threatening situations that impede their progress in life.

Runaway and homeless youth are at high risk of developing severe, life‐long health, behavioral, and emotional problems. They suffer from high rates of depression, poor health, low self-esteem, and a higher likelihood of suicide, survival sex, pregnancy, substance abuse, and post‐traumatic stress disorders. The longer they are homeless, the more likely they are to fall victim to sexual exploitation, human trafficking, and engage in high-risk behaviors. Awareness and prevention are the best ways to help the youth in our community from running away and becoming homeless.

As the only provider of services to runaway and homeless youth in South Lake Tahoe, Tahoe Youth and Family Services (TYFS) is proud to announce that they were recently awarded a federally funded Street Outreach Program (SOP) grant to add to our Supportive Services Program.

The SOP is designed to provide street-based services to runaway, homeless, and street youth 21 years of age or younger who have been subjected to, or are at risk of, being subjected to sexual abuse, prostitution, sexual exploitation, and severe forms of trafficking; and to build relationships with outreach workers to help move them into stable housing and prepare them for independence and success.

In order to assist youth in escaping homelessness and achieving safe, stable living arrangements, TYFS provides multiple services aimed at improving the self-sufficiency of youth by providing a robust Supportive Services Program to fill the gap in services for the most vulnerable youth and young adults in our community.

Supportive services provided by TYFS to help curtail youth from experiencing homelessness, include its Transitional Living Program (TLP), Rapid Rehousing Program (RRH), and Drop-In Center services.

TLP: Provides long-term housing and support through case management, counseling, and substance abuse treatment for young people 16-21 experiencing homelessness, to help them successfully transition into adulthood by promoting self-sufficient living and the prevention of long-term dependency on social services.

RRH: This is for young adults ages 18-24 and is designed to help them move from homelessness to being supported in their housing by retaining and maintaining their own housing utilizing the core components for successful housing placement: housing identification, assistance with move-in costs, rental assistance, and case management with the intent to help young people find and establish stability, improve their overall wellness and better their quality of life;

The Drop-In Center: This center is a point of entry and a safe place that provides respite from the streets providing resources and opportunities to all youth ages 16-24 who are runaways, homeless, couch surfing, living in poverty or who may be at risk of becoming homeless and are seeking to find stability, improve their overall wellness, and quality of life. The Drop-In provides the following supportive services: food, clothing, socks, hygiene supplies, laundry services, showers, help with obtaining employment, state identification, birth certificates, and Social Security Cards, as well as motivation, to move beyond homelessness with guidance and compassion.

For more information on TYFS Supportive Services Programs, contact Cheyanne Lane, Supportive Services Manager, at cheyanne@tahoeyouth.org or 530-434-7716.