KERA reported on the youth homeless count that Promise House staff led in January, the results of which are just starting to come out. According to KERA, outreach workers took about a week in January to count the number of youth, ages 12-24, in Dallas County who are homeless, or don’t have a stable place to call home.
This was the county’s first youth homeless survey, and outreach workers found 179 youth during their count. Keri Stitt, chief partner relations officer at Promise House, told KERA that youth are very hard to find during homeless counts because they don’t always look homeless, and they don’t always know they are homeless because they may be staying with friends.
Stitt reported to KERA that clear disparities were found during the count, as more than half of the homeless youth found were female, and nearly 60% were African-American. A quarter of these homeless youth identified as LGBTQ, and a large number had experience with the juvenile justice system.
Stitt added that Dallas organizations and City Government should be addressing youth homelessness as a way to address adult homelessness, as these youth often remain homeless into adulthood.
ABOUT PROMISE HOUSE
Promise House moves youth in crisis toward safety and success through crisis intervention, emergency shelter and long-term housing, case management and counseling services, education services, advocacy and outreach. Find out more on the organization’s website.
