Homeless Teens
It is very rare that you see someone stop what they’re doing and lend a hand to help a homeless person sitting on a curb. There are over 2 million homeless teens all over the world. Teens, even younger than age 10, find themselves long away from home, with no food, shelter, water, or protection. Most homeless teens leave home before they’re 18th birthday. How long they will last relying on nothing but themselves, is unpredictable. Teenagers have a long life ahead of them; living on the streets is guaranteed to cut it short. Even though most teenagers believe they have what it takes to live on their own during an earlier stage then some, they can never imagine how rough it is out there unprotected and unprepared. Homeless teens shouldn’t be expected to help each other all by themselves; they need help from shelters and the more fortunate.
Homeless teens are always risking their personal safety. It is very hard to find a decent way to clean them; therefor they suffer from lack of hygiene. They have very little or no connection at all with friends or family. Being homeless is putting you in greater risks of disease, starvation, or in some cases, suicide. There is limited access to health care and education. Majority of teens who run away are forced to drop out school because they can no longer take care of themselves, or their school work. “Currently, education materials that specifically target homeless youth do not exist.” Most homeless people around the world are women, however, “In the United States, for example, the highest proportion of homeless people are middle aged men.” This is because so many people are losing their jobs, especially men. Most homeless women carry along their children with them, and try to put their safety first before their own. In some cases, the women aren’t capable of taking care of their children, so they either leave them to die, try to find someone else to take her kids in, or find an appropriate youth housing shelter.
Most teenagers leave home because their parents physically, mentally or sexually abused them. This can cause an individual teen to learn to stand up more for them and defend in certain situations, or it can cause a teen to mentally breakdown and use drugs as comfort. Many teens homeless or not always go through a point where find themselves in a situation involving drugs. Teens with a good home life, good in school, and are living a in a happy and an all-around loving environment are more likely to say no to drugs. Homeless teens however are more likely to feel as if drugs are a way to relive stress and other emotions. Therefore many overdose and die, sometimes, not even knowing what the drug was or its side effects. Some teenagers have the courage to say no to drugs, homeless teens are more likely to give in and try the drug even more than once.
Thousands of teens all over the world are dealing with issues from their parents. Whether if it’s physical, mental or sexual abuse. Conflicts with parents are why most teens leave home. A lot of parents take out their stress on their children. This causes a flood of emotions towards the teen, and they feel as if they have no choice but to run away. Long after this, most teens no longer make any contact with their friends or family, and this causes them to feel very lonely and sad. Also, these emotions can sometimes lead to suicide.
Homeless Teens have a big choice whether or not once they are homeless if they are going to help themselves be put in a foster home, or if they are more of the rebellious type and want to see if they can make it on their own. If a teen has chosen to stay on the street then that puts them in greater risks of being harmed. “Homeless young people are commonly involved in one or more of the following activities that place them at risk for HIV infection--unprotected sexual intercourse, needle-sharing in the use of injectable drugs, sex with someone who injects drugs.”
No one should have to live on the streets, especially not children or teens. If there were more options for foster homes in our world, the rate of homeless teens would dramatically drop to a minimum, or maybe completely abolished. No matter how much trouble a teen may get into, they do not deserve to have their entire life taken away from them. Being a young homeless teen is a serious issue and should be paid more attention to. No one ever knows when another homeless teen will pass on due to all of the needs he or she could have received in a decent foster home.
Work Cited
“Homeless.” Gale Student Resource in Context. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Gale Student Resource in Context. Web. 22 Sept. 2010.
Podschun, Gary D. "Teen Peer Outreach-Street Work Project: HIV Prevention Education..." Public Health Reports. March/April 1993: 150-155.SIRS Government Reporter. Web. 03 Oct 2010.
