"Hidden in Plain Sight": Making Visible and Eradicating Youth Homelessness

• In Event: 35.082 - Roundtable Session 14
  In Roundtable Session: 35.082-10 - At the Crossroads of Policy and Poverty: A Critical Look at Homelessness and Youth in American Schools

Abstract

The purpose of this presentation is three-fold. First, the presenters unpack the constitutive forces behind why today’s youth in the U.S. (ages 15-22) make up a larger percentage of the homeless population than youth did in any historical era in American history (Lee, Tyler and Wright, 2010). Next, the presenters bring the social markers of race, class, and sexuality to the center of their analysis. Thus, capturing why LGBTQ and African American youth are “wildly disproportionally represented among homeless youth in America” (Fee, 2014). In fact, by the accounts of some researchers, LGBTQ youth account for 40 percent of the clients served at homeless centers and agencies, while African American youth make up 30 percent of the homeless population (Fee, 2014; Watson, 2013). Finally, the authors highlight the deleterious impact homelessness has on youth’s social, emotional and intellectual development and suggest ways educators, policymakers, and concerned citizens can strive to subvert the forces, structures and policies breeding a youth-hating culture responsible for the massive upswing of youth homelessness.

Unlike numerous educators, scholars, and policy advocates who believe homeless is spawned by an individual’s poor character, cultural background, or genetic makeup, the presenters recognize the social nature of this phenomenon. The presenters provide insights from cultural theorists such as Grossberg (2001), Giroux (2012), and Males (1996, 1999), in order to illuminate how developments in the political economy are inextricably linked to breeding a “youth hating culture.” The lack of permanent employment, social entitlements, health care, affordable housing, affordable higher education, as well as the overt surveillance and control over youths’ bodies are key forces behind the increasing pain, suffering, and alienation encountered by youth in the US society generally, and in homeless youth specifically. The presenters also glean insights from critical multicultural scholars (May & Sleeter, 2010) who argue social markers of race, class, gender, sexuality, and age must be accounted for when examining the causes of oppressive conditions experienced by all social actors.

The presenters critically examine the definition, statistics, and policies surrounding youth homelessness in the U.S. For instance, they show how many more African American youth are homeless in the U.S. as compared to the statistics generated by government agencies. Many African Americans are not considered homeless even though they are “couch surfing,” walking the streets at night, or get their sleep by napping in libraries or restaurants (Hudley, 2013). The presenters also utilized qualitative methodology to examine the narratives generated by homeless youth on blogs, YouTube, and other social media sites. These first-hand accounts provide insight as to why youth are homeless, the impact homeless has on their lives, and what steps are necessary to eradicate homelessness in youth. This presentation pinpoints how developments in the political economy are merging with entrench forms of discrimination along the lines of age, class, race and sexuality to cause the swelling of youth homelessness in the U.S.

Authors

• Bradley J. Porfilio, Seattle University

• Nicholas Daniel Hartlep, Metropolitan State University