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New York Times highlights increase in youth homelessness
26th of October 2009
It should be no secret that the recession has hit poor families hard and has contributed to increasing numbers of youth living on the street. A front page article in the NY Times sheds light on these phenomena. Read Ian Urbina’‘s piece in the NY Times here
A front page article in the New York Times today shed some light on the economic recession’s effect on the number of youth runaways. According to the article, “Foreclosures, layoffs, rising food and fuel prices and inadequate supplies of low-cost housing have stretched families to the extreme, and those pressures have trickled down to teenagers and preteens.”
It should come as no surprise that “external” pressures negatively affect families, making it harder for them to function and survive properly. The Times cites federal officials who indicate that homelessness over all is expected to rise 10 to 20 percent this year. Washington, DC, is in not immune. SBY has seen a distinct increase in homeless and runaway youth seeking refuge at our emergency shelter, and it is not uncommon for our shelter population to surpass the number of available beds, forcing youth to sleep on cots.
Read more about this disturbing national trend here.