What causes youth to become homeless?
There is no one or simple answer to this question. Youth today face challenges that many adults rarely, if ever, had to contend with during their childhood. Inadequate or lack of education, lack of employment, poverty, domestic abuse, violence in and out the home, teen pregnancy, substance abuse, undiagnosed or improperly diagnosed mental health issues, peer pressure, an unwillingness to abide by the structure parents enforce are among the reasons youth become homeless. (Click here to learn more about the risk factors identified by Covenant House Washington). Whatever the cause, the rate of youth homelessness is alarming. Almost 40 percent of the homeless in the United States are under the age of 18. According to a study conducted by the Center for Law and Social Policy, nearly 50 percent of youth in shelters reported intense conflict or physical harm by a family member as a major contributing factor to their homelessness. Covenant House exists for the sole purpose of helping youth in
