Youth Homelessness a Clear Sign that Action is Needed

 The topic of teens that are living on the street or young adults living in shelters punctuates the point that we as parents and a community are doing something very wrong when it comes to our youth. Maggie Riopelle’s report in the Welland Tribune provides excellent details on what professionals have determined are the key factors contributing to the problem of youth homelessness. One of those points is how the emotional and mental health of an individual contribute to isolation they create for themselves. If we as adults, allow a child to grow into a young adult without ensuring that these issues are handled, then we cannot believe that we have adequately done our job.

This problem is no doubt the result of ongoing situations within families and public institutions. If a mother is left to raise a child on her own with little or no physical or financial support from the father, is it any surprise that the child grows up in an environment where they lack attention, nurturing and guidance? How can a single mother that is forced to work 2 jobs just to pay the rent and put food on the table be expected to have the time and energy needed to supervise the development of her children to the point that it is required?

 

Our system is failing miserably in ensuring that both parents take equal responsibility for the care and upbringing of their children. The idea of making a father pay child support based on his income is absolutely ridiculous. Anyone that believes that the child of a parent that earns 100,000/yr is entitled to better care that a child of someone earning only 20,000/yr is not being realistic. Both children have similar needs for food, shelter, clothing, education etc. Yet the lower earning individual is told to pay the amount that they can afford. Who pays the difference? So we end up with cases where children grow up in homes where many of their needs, often emotional are not being met. To make matters even worse, the same father that walks away from his responsibility with one child, can easily go onto to having another child with someone else, only to repeat the same action and walk out once again. The results are single mothers with no resources and absent fathers without accountability.

 

Children that grow up in intact households that appear to have all of the benefits of responsible parents are not exempt from the emotion or mental health conditions that can contribute to destructive behavior. Parents and teachers must aware of what steps they can take to rectify issues early on. If the signs of emotional or mental health problems are not recognized in time, they can develop into serious concerns that are much more difficult to treat. Instead, youth are suspended from school and rejected by peers or social groups for poor attitude and behavior. This action only contributes to the problem by reinforcing the youth’s opinion that they are on their own. The fact that they end up living on the street, turning to drugs & alcohol or engaging in criminal activity is a logical result of their condition.

 

How can those of us that are concerned about the future of our youth help to reduce the cases of homelessness in our community? I believe that centers providing counseling, job training and medical treatment would be a good start. Teachers and school administrators should be educated on the symptoms of emotional & mental illness. Hey should be trained to recognize indicators much in the same way that they watch for signs of physical and sexual abuse among children. Educators can then pass on this information to the parents and help to direct them to the appropriate resource. Many schools currently provide youth counseling and guidance but it is clear that this is not enough. If it was, the problem simply would not exist. The community, local business and individuals can assist by contributing donations of food, time, money or supplies to centers. The programs must be held accountable to the effectiveness of the results by providing residents of the community with regular reports on the cost, and success or failure of programs. Testimonials from youth that have been able to avoid homelessness or unemployment as a result of the intervention would be essential in gaining more local support.