The Uphill Battle of Homeless Youth

Joshua became homeless after having a fight with his grandmother who struggles with substance abuse issues. He has tried to get a job but nearly all jobs require an online application, which he can’t complete because he doesn’t have steady access to a computer.

DENVER IS MAKING STRIDES TO REDUCE YOUTH HOMELESSNESS, BUT ISSUES REMAIN

BY GILES CLASEN AND ROBERT DAVIS

Photos by Giles Clasen

JOSHUA LEFT HOME after his grandmother began stealing from him to subsidize her drinking habit.

Had it been something of lesser sentimental value, he may have overlooked it. Instead, Joshua said his grandmother stole his Magic the Gathering cards and sold them for booze.

“She isn’t a violent drunk; verbal assaults are more her style,” Joshua explains.  

After one particularly incendiary incident, he reported her to the Denver Sheriff ’s Department and has been staying in a city-funded hotel room on Colfax ever since.

This isn’t his first experience with homelessness, either. At 15 years old, Joshua ran away for a week because his parents wouldn’t let him smoke pot. He camped in Boulder, but the looming threat of blizzard snow drove him back home. 

Now at 19, Joshua says it’s been particularly difficult to find work during the pandemic because he doesn’t have access to the internet. Most days, he panhandles downtown. He wants to get back home to Washington and says his mom is trying to scrounge up enough money to help. 

“I don’t think Denver is the place for me,” Joshua told the VOICE.

BACKWARD SLIDE

While Joshua isn’t alone on the streets of Denver, he represents an alarming trend — a growing number of unaccompanied youths are experiencing homelessness.

Too old for the foster system and often overlooked for work, unaccompanied youth face an uphill battle in Denver as the city’s skyrocketing cost of living and competitive job market make it tough to leave the streets behind.

According to the 2020 Point in Time (PIT) Count, which was conducted before COVID-19 began, 189 unaccompanied youth were experiencing homelessness in Denver. Eighty youths slept in emergency shelters, 55 were placed in transitional housing, and another 54 youths were unsheltered.

Compared to 2016, this represents a net increase of six youths experiencing homelessness. The latest McKinney-Vento numbers reported by Colorado’s Department of Education show Denver had a total of 1,849 homeless students, 108 of whom were unaccompanied, a 17 percent increase since 2016.

Over the same time frame, Denver has drastically revamped its reporting of PIT Count data. Four years ago, the City released a detailed 11-page report that statistically compared the age and demographic information collected.

 A revealing data point is that youths between the ages of 18 and 24 years old made up the highest percentage of Denver’s homeless population in 2016.

In comparison, data from the 2020 Count was released in a one-page fact sheet with an experimental online dashboard accompanying it. The dashboard itself doesn’t delve any deeper into the numbers; it merely reports statistics based on a user’s selected criteria.

NUMBERS AND LIVED EXPERIENCE

To better understand how to help Colorado’s homeless youth, the State’s Office of Homeless Youth Services (OHYS) developed the Youth Supplemental Survey (YSS) in 2016 to help bridge the gap between the state’s PIT Count data and the lived experience of homelessness.

The survey is conducted in partnership with the state’s four Continuums of Care (COC): El Paso/Pikes Peak, the Metropolitan Denver Homeless Initiative Balance of State, and the newly formed Northern Colorado COC.

Each COC is required to participate in the survey. However, not all have enough resources or volunteers to do a physical count. Instead, all COCs provide OHYS with sheltered youth counts for the relative ease of pairing it with the PIT Count. The YSS data is then subdivided between youths who are enrolled in school and those who are not, according to OHYS Director Kristin Toombs.

“Comparing school status amongst youth experiencing homelessness helps identify potential trends in demographics, social determinants, homelessness history, or other barriers and life experiences,” Toombs told the VOICE.

“One of the most revealing parts of the survey was that 85 percent of youth counted were older than in previous counts, suggesting they are experiencing multiple episodes of homelessness or prolonged periods of homelessness,” Toombs added.

The survey also found higher incidences of youths experiencing homelessness with various mental, physical, or behavioral health issues, something the State was making good progress to reduce.

Between 2017 and 2019, the prevalence of homeless youth reporting mental health issues dropped by 30 percent, according to the YSS. Similarly, the incident rates for physical health and domestic violence issues dropped 19 percent and 9 percent, respectively.

However, the incidence rates in each category increased in 2020. The number of homeless youths experiencing mental health issues increased by 20 percent; physical health issues increased by 7 percent, and domestic violence increased by four percent.

While these figures are useful in determining trends, OHYS Program Specialist Paul Vong cautions against using the data to make deductions. The survey only identified 401 homeless youth statewide in 2020, a very clear and obvious undercount.

According to Vong, the amount of overlap between YSS data and other youth homelessness counts is unknown to researchers as well. Current privacy laws and the anonymous nature of the survey make it impossible to compare data at the individual level.”

There is no conclusive evidence provided from YSS data to determine the spike in youth experiencing homelessness. Much more information is needed regarding the ways youth enter into homelessness and the manner youth exit homelessness into permanent housing,” he said.

WHY YOUTHS BECOME HOMELESS

Data captured through the YSS does reveal two significant needs and gaps in youth homelessness: affordable housing and access to income.

 Colorado’s affordability crisis is well-documented, but the impact of the pandemic on youth employment is still coming into  focus. According to Mathematica, a data analytics company, Colorado experienced a 20 percent

spike in youth unemployment after the pandemic began, accounting for one of the highest increases in the nation.

Economists at the University of Colorado Boulder anticipate Denver’s economy to fall short of a full recovery in 2021 as well. Industries most primed for growth include hospitality, transportation, and finance, according to the Leeds School of Business Research Division.

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows more than 20,000 workers were shed from Denver’s workforce in the first four months of 2020. The workforce has since nearly returned to its January 2020 totals, but the city’s available job stock remains low. In practice, this means homeless youth are competing with adults for part-time and entry level positions.

The pandemic’s economic impacts have also increased the number of households facing housing instability. Federal and state funds are available for Colorado renters facing eviction, but a report by The Colorado Sun found many landlords aren’t accepting the assistance. As a result, the Denver County Court may hear tens of thousands of eviction cases if the state moratorium ends.

Meanwhile, many low-income and homeless youths can’t participate in city-run youth employment programs because they transitioned to a virtual setting.

FORGING A PATH FORWARD

An easy solution the YSS data points to is helping unaccompanied youth enroll or stay in school.

Only 44 percent of YSS participants said their last stable residence was in Colorado. Sixty-nine percent of those who reported a stable residence in the state attended school, which speaks to the important role schools play in providing children and their families with necessary services.

YSS data also shows that school attendance correlates with a greater quality of life. Homeless youth who attend school often have a connection with their family but live doubled up with relatives or friends. On the other hand, a majority of homeless youths not in school are more connected to caseworkers and often sleep on the streets or in shelters, the survey found. 

Another solution is to increase supportive housing and social services. One way is to build permanent supportive housing and pass rental assistance policies for homeless and low-income youth, the survey said.

For example, in 2020, the City of Fort Collins built a 34-unit apartment complex for homeless and at-risk teens known as the House. The House serves as a temporary shelter for kids aged 13 to 20.

Social support services should also address the overrepresentation of LGBTQ+ youths experiencing homelessness, the survey recommends. YSS data shows nearly 30 percent of survey participants who disclosed their sexual orientation reported being LGBTQ+.

However, there is still so much researchers don’t know about youth homelessness in Colorado, according to the survey. The questions volunteers ask do not address whether the experiences with the child welfare or juvenile justice systems are a result of homelessness, or if the system’s involvement contributed to the experience of homelessness.

“The report certainly highlights what some homeless youth have in the past, or are currently experiencing across Colorado. However, the highlight really is on areas where we need to learn more,” Toombs said. ■