Tale of two cities and

homelessness

EDD644:Child & Family Welfare

Week 3 Discussion 2
Summer Mullen
1/21/16

STATISTICAL DATA FOR NEW YORK

& CHICAGO HOMELESSNESS
*1.7 Million youth call
the streets home in
* 20,000 of those
homeless are 24yrs old
and younger
* Those under 18yrs
account for 39%, 42%
are 5yrs and younger,
40% homeless youth
identify with LGBT in
New York
* 5,000 homeless youth
die due to assault.
Illness or suicide

* There are 20,205

homeless students in
Chicago
* 87% homeless students
live doubled up in homes
with others due to
hardship, 1.7% live in
motels, 55 in parks and
other public places, 13%
teens live without parents
or guardian
* 98.1 homeless children
are of color & 18.3 have
disabilities or
development delays

Support offered in New

York

Covenant House
New York

Job Training

Mother Child
Program

Street & Van

Outreach

Casa Alianza

Support offered in Chicago

Job Training

Outreach Programs &

Shelters

Transitional Homes

The Reentry Project (for

incarcerated parents)

Health Aid & Services

Policies Supporting
Homelessness in Chicago

HomeWorks Policy(affordable housing and

improved school services.
House Bill 4501 allows unaccompanied minors to
consent to their own medical care
Responsible Budget Coalition (guaranteed
funding for homelessness programs)
Plan in place to end homelessness in a 10 year
span
They are involving the community and look at
this as a community project instead of turning a
blind eye and leaving for the government to take
care of

Policies Supporting
Homelessness in New York

Housing solutions offered like shelters

Healthcare programs and services
2009 - The Manhattan Child Advocacy
Center opens.
2015 - The Bronx Child Advocacy Center
opens.
Program Called SafeHorizons
Community Food and Outreach Centers

Interesting Information Learned

What was interesting and also surprising for me to learn
was just how many youth are homeless. It is very sad
to know that so many children/students have no place
to call home. This was just information provided by two
cities so the numbers throughout the United States is
surly off the scale. It was not surprising how ever to
know that many of those are homeless just dont know
how to get or where the resources are and that is a
problem because so many people and youth need help.
Lastly it shocked me that the funds for homelessness
is constantly getting cut when the number of those that
are homeless is constantly growing. This was a very
interesting discussion and has me think what can I do
to help in my city which is San Diego.

References

All Chicago. (2013). Making Homelessness History. Retrieved from http://

www.allchicago.org/what-homelessness.

Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. (2014). No youth alone. Retrieved from
http://www.chicagohomeless.org/programs-campaigns/advocacy-public-policy/no-youth-alone/

Covenant House. (2014). Helping homeless kids in New York. Retrieved from http://
www.covenanthouse.org/homeless-charity/new-york

Hirst, E. J. (2013, May 27). Number of homeless youths on the rise, suggests shelter, hotline data.
Chicago Tribune. Retrieved from http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-05-27/news/ct-methomeless-youth-chicago-20130528_1_youths-hotline-shelter

Safe Horizon. (n.d.). Homeless youth statistics & facts. Retrieved from
http://www.safehorizon.org/page/streetwork-homeless-youth-facts-69.html

Saulny, S. (2012, December 8). After recession, more young adults are living on street. The New
York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/19/us/since-recession-more-youngamericans-are-homeless.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&