Did you know that 33,524 children aged birth to 17 experience homelessness in Missouri (Kids Count Data Center, 2022)? If you didn’t, now’s the time to shed light on this issue in our state. November is National Youth Homelessness Awareness Month, and we want to share the work Missouri Coalition for Children member organizations do to help youth facing homelessness in Missouri today.
According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, family conflict, poverty, housing insecurity, racial disparities, mental health and substance use disorders all contribute to youth and child homelessness. In addition, those who have had involvement with the child welfare and foster care systems are more likely to become unhoused. Youth who belong to the LGBTQ+ community are twice as likely to experience homelessness compared to their cisgender or heterosexual peers (NCSL).
Youth experiencing homelessness can face significant barriers to mental and physical health services, enrolling in school and obtaining identification cards. They’re also more at risk of entering the juvenile or criminal justice systems. These obstacles make it much more difficult to exit homelessness and achieve stable, permanent living arrangements (NCSL).
Community organizations provide essential services to help youth with these challenges, including transitional living programs, safe and stable housing, educational programs, career assistance and permanency planning. Expanding support and capacity for these programs is key to making a difference in Missouri.
Spreading awareness about youth homelessness can help connect resources to people who need them and promote support by community members who want to help. During National Youth Homelessness Awareness Month, we encourage you to seek out and highlight the organizations in your community that provide services to youth who are unhoused.
Read on to learn more about MCC member organizations’ work to help youth who are unhoused in your area – and how you can help, too.
St. Louis
According to Youth In Need, 45% of youth looking for shelter in St. Louis are turned away due to a lack of capacity. In St. Louis, both Youth In Need and Covenant House plan to host “sleep-out” events in November to support the cause. In an act of solidarity, participants forgo the safety and comforts of home for one night in November to promote awareness of the often-unseen youth homelessness crisis. Learn more about these organizations and their sleep-out events below.
Youth In Need
Youth In Need provides a range of services to youth experiencing homelessness in the St. Louis region. Through a mobile outreach unit, its Street Outreach program delivers essential items like food, clothing and hygiene products directly to youth on the streets. Youth In Need also offers a Transitional Living Program that provides safe and stable housing, resources and basic needs. According to Youth In Need, 45% of youth are turned away from shelters in St. Louis due to a lack of capacity. To help raise money and awareness, Youth In Need’s Young Professionals Group is holding its sixth annual Step-Up and Sleep-Out event to support its programs that work directly with youth experiencing homelessness. Participants will receive information on how to create their own online fundraising pages, sleep out on their own and continue to help throughout the year. The culmination event of Step-Up and Sleep-Out is Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 6 p.m. at Youth In Need’s offices at 1815 Boone’s Lick Road in St. Charles, Missouri. Learn more about how to participate and support Youth In Need here.
Covenant House
Covenant House provides immediate and long-term support for young people facing homelessness in St. Louis. When youth are admitted to Covenant House, their immediate needs are met with nourishing food, clean clothes, a shower, medical attention and a safe place to spend the night. After that, Covenant House provides residential services, educational programs, job training and placement, medical services, and mental health counseling. Ultimately, its goal is that every youth finds stable housing and moves toward an independent, sustainable future. Covenant House is also organizing Sleep Out 2024 on Nov. 21. Learn more about how to participate in Sleep Out 2024 here.
Kansas City
Every Child’s Hope
Kansas City Steppingstone is a transitional living program that supports young people ages 16 through 21 in their journey to independence. The program offers safe housing, employment services, education counseling, life skills training and permanency planning. Each youth begins by meeting with a case worker who conducts a Functional Status Rating (FSR) to create a tailored care plan. Through targeted life skills training, participants learn skills for self-sufficiency, including job application processes, interview preparation and career planning.
Cornerstones of Care
Cornerstones of Care’s Pathways Transitional Living program provides support and transitional housing for motivated teens and young adults experiencing homelessness or coming from foster care. As the only program in the region certified in trauma-informed care, Pathways focuses on compassion, acceptance and accountability, creating a safe and judgment-free environment where youth can focus on their education and career goals. The program offers stable housing options such as independent apartments, shared apartment complexes and transition houses, tailored to different levels of independence. Pathways provides support in education, job readiness and community connections. In 2023, 79 young adults gained independence in the Pathways program.
KVC Missouri
KVC Missouri provides Transitional Living Group Homes to youth transitioning from alternative care to independence. These homes provide individualized case management that addresses education, employment and healthcare needs. Therapy, including individual and group therapy, is also available, facilitating a smoother transition to self-sufficiency. KVC also provides Scattered Sites Apartment Living for older youth. The program offers personalized treatment plans focused on budgeting, shopping and transportation alongside case management and educational support.
Southwest
Good Samaritan Boys Ranch
Good Samaritan’s Transitional Living Program serves young men and women age 18 to 23 years old. As the largest program of its kind in the state, one-third of all transition-aged youth in foster care enter Good Samaritan’s program each year. It’s designed to equip young adults with the skills, connections and support they need to age out of foster care and enter adulthood with stability and confidence. The program consists of group homes, transitional living apartments, and Good Samaritan’s newest program, Fostering Stability (only youth in its apartment program are eligible). Learn more here.
Blog post by Charlotte Renner and Brianna Bowman
