Report links youth homelessness to high rents and family

Photo: Unsplash/EV

By Robert Davis

Roughly 40% of homeless youths in the Denver metro area identified family issues stemming from the high cost of living as the number one reason why they became homeless, according to a new report from the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative.

The report called the “Homeless Youth Needs Assessment,” is the first of its kind and attempts to provide a well-rounded insight into the needs and challenges homeless youths face. It was released at a time when MDHI’s one-night snapshot data shows that the number of homeless families in the seven-county Denver metro area increased to 2,101 in 2023 from 1402 in 2019 before the pandemic began, representing a roughly 50% increase.

“Homelessness is a growing challenge in the Denver metro area, and oftentimes, public perception is at odds with the data on this issue,” the 81-page document reads in part. “This Needs Assessment is intended to provide a comprehensive overview of the homeless youth system through a lens of data, lived expertise, and equity.”

The report used six different data sources to draw its conclusions. One of them is Colorado’s Homeless Management Information System, which tracks the number of individuals who access homeless services. Other sources include the local Point in Time snapshot count, McKinney-Vento data reported by local school districts, runaway service providers, and homeless shelters.

 Overall, it found that 1,787 youths accessed homeless services between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022. The organization also found 632 youths were served by runaway organizations and school districts identified another 952 youths over the same time frame. Another 322 homeless youths accessed the shelter system.

 Male youths of color aged 18-24 with some kind of disabling condition are the group most likely to experience homelessness in the metro area, according to the demographic data compiled in the assessment. About one in five youths identified as chronically homeless, meaning they had experienced homelessness for at least 12 months or on four separate occasions within the last three years.

LGBTQIA+ individuals were also disproportionately represented in the data, with about 20% of homeless youths identifying as such compared to less than 5% of adults in Colorado. This group was also most likely to self-report an eviction or abuse in the home as the reason why they became homeless, according to the report.

Contact with the foster care system, insufficient family income, and parental incarceration were also mentioned as causes of homelessness. About 35% of the unhoused youths were in foster care compared to 33% who cited insufficient family income and 20% who identified parental incarceration as the cause of their homelessness.

“Many of these young people [in foster care] turn 18 and lack financial literacy, basic vital documentation such as a birth certificate or social security card, and a plan for job training or higher education,” the report reads. “The system has failed to prepare them for success.”

When youths were asked about the barriers to housing, 56% of homeless youths said they lacked the income while another 46% said there weren’t enough affordable housing options. Other barriers identified include a lack of vital documents like an identification or birth certificate and a lack of available mental health resources.

The report also called for an increase in the number of youth-specific emergency shelter beds and the development of a successful transitional housing model for youths who age out of the foster care system.

It also identified other needs that homeless youths felt are not being met by available services. Many youths reported feeling isolated and marginalized. “These relationships can serve as platforms for education, skill-building, and mentorship, helping them develop the tools they need to transition out of homelessness successfully,” the report said.