Premium Essay

Homeless Children

In: People

Submitted By iamdatbitch
Words 494
Pages 2
HOMELESS CHILDREN IN AMERICA
Julieanna Correa
CM107

PART ONE

Homelessness is a devastating experience for anybody especially children. It can change every aspect of their life including education, development, health and well-being. Most of the time it is a result of family separation. The fastest growing segments of the homeless population is families with children.

PART TWO
The definition of a homeless child is a child that lacks a fixed, regular and adequate night time residence. This also includes children who might be living in hotels, trailer parks, or awaiting foster care placement. “Children make up the largest people who are homeless in rural areas” (Vissing, 2006). The number of homeless families with children has increased significantly over the past decade. There was a time when they would have a difficult time getting enrolled in school because of certain requirements such as proof of address. In 2007 the legislation passed a bill that would help more homeless children enroll into school, the Mckinney- Vento Homeless Assistance act.

National Coalition for the Homeless. (2009, July). National Coalition for the Homeless. Retrieved July 15, 2013, from http://www.nationalhomeless.org/about_us/index.html

Homelessness affects teenagers as well. They are commonly known as “runaways”. These children have gone through something so traumatic in their home that they feel like living on the streets would be safer. “Approximately forty percent of homeless youth identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered” (according to Safe Horizon).This causes conflicts with the parents and the children have nowhere to turn but the streets. There are nearly two million homeless teens in America. That’s one third of the homeless population. There are six thousand homeless teenage cases a year.

There are many organizations to help these children and

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Homeless Children

...parents will come back. These are the things that homeless children think about almost every day. There are thousands of children in Orange County who are hungry, homeless and have no future in their education. In this society, the Orange County is one of the richest cities known to America, however no one knows there are unfortunate citizens currently living in the city as well. It is important that the city needs to know what is going on with these poor unfortunate children, and how it is affecting our society and to our future generations. There are homelessness families all over in America, but there are around 28,000 homeless children in Orange County according to the Orange County Department of Education in 2010 to 2011. Roughly there are mothers who are around in their late twenties with two children to support. According to familyhomelessness.org, there are 84% of families experiencing homelessness who are female-headed. Majority of these homeless women did not receive a high school diploma. Also there are 42% of children in homeless families who are under the age of six. Knowing these facts, it should show the society that this is a social issue and it is something that the society should not take lightly. Children living on their own is horrifying experience for them. For every kid out on the street, they cannot find the happiness and hope if they don’t have a chance to live a second chance in life. These homeless kids should not be left out on the streets, but they...

Words: 736 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Juvenile Delinquency

...knowing the causes of why so many youth end up in juvenile delinquency. Based on an Article back on 1999, students between the ages of 12 and 18 approximately 186,000 where victims of violence crime in school and 476,000 while away from school (National Center for Educational Statistics 2001). That is a situation that should have not be acceptable, one of the biggest causes of Juvenile Delinquency is the lack of attention that parents give to their children. There are parents who give poor directions to children, fail to structure their behavior and do not reward or punish appropriately. “…our prediction was that the highest levels of antisocial behavior would occur where poor attachment between parent and child was combined with poor controls.” (Hoge, Andrews, and Leschied, 1994, p. 547). Two other causes are a child being abuse physically and mentally at an early age, and low self-esteem. There are many much factors and causes that if we all take in consideration and with the help of the government we can help our youth to children of good and grow with being...

Words: 261 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Unit 3

...Activity | Hazards | Likelihood | Severity | Controls | Drawing (Arts and craft) | Sharp pencilsPaper cuts | 22 | 44 | Make sure pencils are not too sharp.Cello tape paper down to tables | Dinner time | Chocking on foodSharp utensils | 31 | 35 | Make sure food is cut up small enough for child not to choke on itDon’t leave utensils out or misplace sharp ones | Reading to children | Fall asleep and suffocateTry eating books | 11 | 35 | Make sure child doesn’t fall asleep sitting upDo not let children read books unsupervised | Taking children to toilets | Not cleaning child properlySlip on water | 32 | 34 | Making sure the child has been cleaned properly to prevent cross contaminationMake sure children are supervised | Playtime | Eat sand Weather | 23 | 43 | Make sure child is supervised at all timesMake sure child is correctly dressed at all times | P3: Carry out a risk assessment in a health or social care setting. M2: Assess the hazards identified in the health and social care setting. D1: Make recommendations in relation to the identified hazards to minimise the risks to the service user group. In this assignment I will be talking about the risk assessment that I carried out in a nursery. I will be talking about the risks that could take place and how likely it would be of the risk to take place, also I will be talking about the severity of the risk. A risk assessment is simply a careful examination of what, in your work, could cause harm to people, so that...

Words: 2863 - Pages: 12

Premium Essay

Chronic Homelessness In America

...has yet to be found. But, activists have came up with many alternatives for example like affordable housing and homeless shelters. Alarmingly twenty-two percent of people in shelters were children. There are a lot more statistics like this that just wanna make you cringe. But, they are receiving shelter and food so that is a great alternative than sleeping on the streets. Although this isn't a complete solution to the issue of homelessness we are getting closer to a final solution. Homelessness has gradually become a...

Words: 860 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Homelessness Plan

...Deborah Mager Dr. Bliss Engl. 101 11/22/11 Homelessness Plan There are so many children who are homeless each year with their families. Lucy Smith is one such child. She lives in a car with her mother after they lost their home. This past August, when the back to school lists came out, her mother couldn’t even afford to get her all the supplies she needs. Children at school make fun of her for being homeless and Lucy’s teacher kept asking her where her supplies were. Every morning, they go into a store to use the bathroom to get ready for the day. At least three nights a week, they try and go to a friend’s house to take a shower and wash their clothes. Her mother is looking for a job, but it’s hard to get hired when they don’t always have the cleanest clothes and an address. Lucy is just one child affected by homelessness, but there are many more, just like her. Unemployment is a major factor in homeless families ending up on the streets. The U.S Department of Labor claims that in 2010 there were at least 9.8 million families with an unemployed member. When the economy crashed, many people lost their jobs or received reduced hours. For many families, that caused them to get behind in paying rent or the mortgage. It was especially bad for the minimum wage workers who were already on the verge of homelessness before they lost their jobs. Another problem contributing to homelessness is the mortgage crisis. A Medill School report found that in October 2007, Illinois ranked...

Words: 2817 - Pages: 12

Free Essay

Assignment 3, the Concept of Program Reengineering

...homelessness are people just like us. They desire financial stability and a secure home, but have confronted difficult circumstances without sufficient resources to overcome the situation and remain housed. Unfortunately, that is the reality of homelessness today. Typically, families become homeless as a result of some unforeseen financial crisis - a medical emergency, a car accident, a death in the family - that prevents them from being able to hold on to housing. Most homeless families are able to bounce back from homelessness quickly, with relatively little public assistance. Usually, homeless families require rent assistance, housing placement services, job assistance, and other short-term, one-time services before being able to return to independence and stability. In the case study, "Mayor Schell's Zero Homeless Family Pledge", Norton discusses the challenges facing a policy manager in a large city (Seattle) government agency who is expected to implement a bold new policy to reduce homelessness that may exceed the local government's capacity to address the issue. In the case, the mayor of Seattle pledges in June that there will be no homeless families with children or homeless women by Christmas. The manager in the case, Alan Painter, shares the mayor's commitment and enthusiasm for reducing homelessness in the city, but has many concerns about the feasibility of the mayor's pledge. Painter knows the current...

Words: 1362 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Hidden Homeless

... The Hidden Homeless I have previously volunteered at the Mainspring house in Brockton but I never Have eaten among the homeless before. Mainspring house is a homeless shelter that also partners with father bills which is another homeless shelter, Father Bills and Mainspring House have locations in Brockton, Quincy and Taunton. Father Bills and Mainspring take in the homeless, feed them a meal and then let them stay the night before they have to leave the next day. They also have permanent housing programs that the homeless can get into. The mission statement on their website helpfbms.org states " The mission of Father Bills and Mainspring House is to help homeless people obtain a home by giving temporary shelter and food , finding safe and affordable housing and providing permanent housing with supportive services Father Bills and Mainspring helps people who are homeless or at risk of being homeless to achieve self-sufficiency." According to their website 15 percent of the adults that are sheltered are employed but are still homeless, and 388 of the people who are sheltered are children. While I was driving to the facility I was extremely nervous, while I was waiting in the line outside for dinner what really surprised me the most was what the homeless people looked like. When you think of a homeless person you usually think of the people on the street sleeping in a cardboard box and wearing...

Words: 741 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Juvenile Delinquency

...knowing the causes of why so many youth end up in juvenile delinquency. Based on an Article back on 1999, students between the ages of 12 and 18 approximately 186,000 where victims of violence crime in school and 476,000 while away from school (National Center for Educational Statistics 2001). That is a situation that should have not be acceptable, one of the biggest causes of Juvenile Delinquency is the lack of attention that parents give to their children. There are parents who give poor directions to children, fail to structure their behavior and do not reward or punish appropriately. “…our prediction was that the highest levels of antisocial behavior would occur where poor attachment between parent and child was combined with poor controls.” (Hoge, Andrews, and Leschied, 1994, p. 547). Two other causes are a child being abuse physically and mentally at an early age, and low self-esteem. There are many much factors and causes that if we all take in consideration and with the help of the government we can help our youth to children of good and grow with being descent. References Sharon Mandel Ilanna. (2008). what causes Juvenile Delinquency? Retrieved from http://www.filthylucre.com/what-causes-juvenile-delinquency Schaefer Schiumo, Ginsberg Kristin, Potraka Amy (Eds). (2003, Aug) The Effectiveness of the warning signs Programming Educating Youth about Violence Prevention: A Study with Urban High School Students. (Vol.7, Issue 1, p1-8....

Words: 315 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Selt Test Guide 5

...Chapter 15 1. Father of the country 2. “houses of refuge” 3. reform school 4. Illinois Juvenile Court Act 5. • The state is the “higher or ultimate parent” of all the children within its borders. • Children are worth saving, and nonpunitive procedures should be used to save the child. • Children should be nurtured. While the nurturing process is under way, they should be protected from the stigmatizing impact of formal adjudicatory procedures. • To accomplish the goal of reformation, justice needs to be individualized; that is, each child is different, and the needs, aspirations, living conditions, and so on of each child must be known in their individual particulars if the court is to be helpful. • Noncriminal procedures are necessary to give primary consideration to the needs of the child. The denial of due process can be justified in the face of constitutional challenges because the court acts not to punish, but to help. 6. Status offenses 7. • Notice, to comply with due process requirements, must be given sufficiently in advance of scheduled court proceedings so that reasonable opportunity to prepare will be afforded. • The probation officer cannot act as counsel for the child. His role in the adjudicatory hearing, by statute and in fact, is as arresting officer and witness against the child. There is no material difference in this respect between adult and juvenile proceedings...

Words: 324 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Crime Causation and Diversion Paper

...delinquent behavior in some form exists in the majority of the youth present in the world today. Why juveniles present such behavior is an ongoing topic of discussion for law enforcement officials and agencies. There are many programs geared toward helping juveniles to cope with their issues and receive the help and treatment needed to be successful in life. In the city of Petersburg, Virginia there is a Firesetters Program. This program addresses the problem of fires set by children. A Juvenile Firesetter is a child typically between the ages of 4 and 14 who exhibits an unusual interest or curiosity in fires, or a child with a history of fire play. This program also seeks to find the reason behind the setting of fires or what triggers the child to set fires. Some reasons could be the divorce of parents, frustration, anger, loneliness, a crisis at home, death, or issues or problems at school ( City of Petersburg, 2015). This program also meets with the parents and the child or children to conduct confidential sessions with the Public Educator or Fire Marshal. An interview is conducted to try to find out how long the problem has existed, the primary reason for it, and the dangers associated with it. An evaluation is done and follow up visits are scheduled for the child. Another diversion program in the state of Virginia is the Community Services Program. This program allows youth to work without pay in a government or non-profit agency and it is an ...

Words: 1070 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Child Observation

...Healthy Children.org Attention spans of 6- to 9-year-olds are still short (no joke), and there is difficulty trying to process information from many sources. Most of these children still need a more in-depth form of show-and tell for instruction. Do not expect them to remember long, detailed directions and carry them out completely, or you risk an episode of brain overload. Unrealistic expectations from instructors can lead to unpleasant situations if children are not able to complete a laundry list of plays. Visual and verbal teaching in short segments is a much more successful approach. Instructors and children feel a sense of accomplishment when many small tasks are completed successfully rather than partially completing a large, complicated task. Remember, some of us are still memory-challenged as adults and can’t even remember a grocery list without writing it down. Thank goodness for little sticky notes. Sports and activities with complex skills require quick assessment of a situation, rapid decision making, and mature levels of transitional skills. Examples of a few of these sports are the more advanced forms of soccer, basketball, hockey, volleyball, baseball, water polo, softball, lacrosse, and football. By all means, kids can be learning the basics of these sports at young ages, but do not expect high levels of performance in most kids in this age group because the development of their memory and complex thinking patterns is still limited. As usual, there are...

Words: 3701 - Pages: 15

Free Essay

Juvenile Delinquency

...Juvenile Delinquency Every day child abuse and neglect takes it's toll on innocent young lives. Nearly five children die everyday in America from their abuse. ("National children," 2011) Not only does child abuse leave it's victims with physical and emotional scars, but it also cripples their chances of leading normal happy lives. Many of these children tend to lean towards unhealthy social behavior as a way to cope with their abuse, which in turn may make them a juvenile delinquent. Child abuse is not a recent development. It has existed for thousands of years. However parents and society from thousands of years ago saw no problem with the way their children and other people's children were being disciplined. In fact children in that time had little to no rights and were mostly considered a nuisance and unimportant. Luckily for children today that opinion has changed. Unfortunately there are still thousands of children out there who are considered a nuisance and unimportant to their parent or guardian. Although physical abuse is the most critical, there are other types that can be just as damaging and leave their own set of scars. Other forms of abuse include emotional abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse. It's hard to say whether one form is more damaging than another. All forms of abuse can cause a child to have difficulties later on in life. Some of these difficulties may include damage to a child's sense of self, their ability to maintain healthy relationships, and their...

Words: 1164 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Role of Community

...specific delinquency problem must accept the fact that it is a long and thoughtful process, often one of discouragement and delay. It is expensive in terms of money, time and effort. It need hardly be pointed out, however, that the results of delinquency are twice as costly. From all our knowledge of delinquents and delinquency, there is no reassuring evidence of a formula or recipe for prevention. What emerges clearly, from many studies and reports and surveys, is that delinquent behaviour must be the concern of the entire community, not just dismissed as a problem to be handled by local schools, churches, police courts or professional agencies. It should be recognized as their problem by the citizens of a community even when their own children are not remotely involved. But in many big cities in the world, the very word community is a mockery and without true meaning. Most urban centres are not communities in any real sense of the word. Therefore, in just such an instance, a beginning must be made at the very level where delinquency occurs-on the block, in a neighbourhood, in a district. The very lack of a community, a word...

Words: 8434 - Pages: 34

Free Essay

Monsters Inc- Ethics

...ethical dilemma central to the plot of the movie. The ethical dilemma portrayed was the fear tactics used by the CEO of Monsters, Inc., Mr. Henry J. Waternoose to keep the employees from forming relationships with children. Mr. Waternoose has created a culture of fear among his employees by creating the Child Detection Agency to remove contamination caused by children. Mr. Waternoose knows that the threat of toxicity does not exist, as depicted in the scene where Waternoose simply picks up the human child when the child first enters his sight. All other monsters run upon first sight of the child but because Waternoose is responsible for creating this culture of fear, he knows the child is not toxic. 2. How does the movie resolve the ethical dilemma? I was amazed at the ease of how the ethical dilemmas presented in this film were resolved. The issue was resolved at the end of the movie with the disbandment of the CDA, and the scenes of free floating toys from human world to monster world. All monsters easily accepted the truth that children are not toxic, nor have they ever been toxic. 3. Think of alternate solutions and how they might have changed the story. Alternative Solution: At Monsters Inc. all the monsters had this myth that the children are toxic. If they would have start meetings devoted to letting people watch at a distance the nonexistent effects of the myth. Letting people see with their own eyes the myth dissolving is at times enough to persuade...

Words: 368 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Juvenile Deliquency

...youth. Living the life of a challenged child hood is some of the factors that may contribute to the factors of juvenile delinquency. The children of the future are in trouble of being locked up before they get a chance to live their life. “Today, Juvenile facilities nationwide hold some 104,000 offenders” (Cannon, Beiser, 2004, p.29). Out of the 21 million that live in the United States the stated number from above is questionable. Why are there so many, is there a reason for this, and what is being done to understand this? These are questions that may pop into your head as read the first statement. Technologies, pressure from parents, acceptance from society are three factors that contribute to juvenile delinquency. First we begin with the pressures of parents or the pressures that they may apply to their children. I read an article that the author says it best. We live in a society that often puts too much stress on financial success and not enough on personal well-being. Because of this parents understandably can over-focus on guiding their children towards a lucrative career rather than giving them time and space to find their own path in life. (Steve, 2008) I agree with this statement whole heartedly because it is being done all the time by parents. So to another contributing factor that the parents are showing their children that financial responsibility is almost more important than the issues of life, such as being a good human being and showing compassion to other...

Words: 1399 - Pages: 6