"Many homeless students live in shelters, motels or are forced to live with friends and other family members after being displaced. Some girls, and male students, too, actually live in makeshift camps along the wooden areas of major roads an in cars and trucks." [Source: Pinellas Park Beacon]

Labels: florida, homelessness

A south London rapper who once lived rough was surrounded by the family she left as a teenager as she won the £20,000 Barclaycard Mercury Music Prize.

Speech Debelle, 26, trounced critics' favourites Florence And The Machine and Bat For Lashes as well as big sellers Kasabian to pick up the award established as an alternative to the commercial Brits.

Despite taking her inspiration from her troubled and lonely past when she slept on the streets and in hostels, Debelle celebrated [her victory] with her mother, Marilyn Dennis, with whom she lives again in Mitcham, and grandmother, Madame De Belle, from Streatham.

Labels: homelessness, music

For years, Father Steve, who lives in Haddonfield, took his kids to work with him. "I told my wife I was in the chapel," he says. "She never knew I was taking them into housing projects and hanging around prostitutes."

Mike, the oldest, became a history professor. Alex never finished college, drifting between bartending and selling cars. "Nothing I was doing had any meaning or value."

In 2005, Alex applied for a job at Covenant House secretly, not sure he wanted it or how his father would react. [Covenant House is a privately funded program that serves homeless teens and young adults. Father Steve has worked there for years].

Since then, the younger Siniari married a coworker and landed a promotion. Today, as outreach coordinator, Alex is technically his dad's boss.

Labels: homelessness, outreach

"Just being on the streets unsupervised makes kids vulnerable and there are people who target and exploit that, [Bob] Christmas said. The danger could be anything from an outright sexual predator to the lure of a party house or crack house."

Labels: homelessness, runaways

"The city's homeless count last May showed there were 154 homeless youths between the ages of 13 and 17 - up from 56 counted six years earlier. There were another 327 homeless people between the ages of 18 to 24. One of the shelters, Avenue 15, which caters to 12- to 19-year-olds, served 838 different clients between July 2007 [and] June 2008."

Labels: homelessness, runaways

"Their numbers are staggering - nearly 700 at the official count by [San Luis Obispo] county school districts last school year. More than 200 of those are 'unaccompanied youth.' And with the tightening economy, those numbers are widely expected to be even higher this year, as more and more local families find themselves without a home to call their own."

Labels: dropouts, homelessness, students

"Whether the number is closer to the higher or lower estimate, these are kids who still have a chance to turn their lives around. While some may be determined to run away from the rules of their homes, others may be leaving homes where there is physical abuse, alcoholism or drug abuse."

Labels: homelessness, runaways, shelters

"House Bill 1165 does several things: Lifts the legal and regulatory barriers preventing homeless shelters and food pantries from assisting unaccompanied 16- and 17-year olds, extends the deadline that an emergency shelter has to notify a parent or legal guardian if a homeless teen shows up at its door. Previously it was 24 hours; now the notification time is 72 hours."

Labels: homelessness, legislation, runaways

"Steve Pine, regional coordinator for career and technical education at the Southern Oregon Education Service District, and Sam Baldoni, owner of Inspired Films Inc., hope to launch the Oregon Youth Academy for grades nine through 12 by fall 2009."

Labels: homelessness, hope, teachers

"'We know they exist, because they are showing up at our doors, and they're calling us,' said Cheryl Hall-Russell, chief executive officer of the Indiana Youth Services Association. But estimates of runaway and homeless youths in Indiana vary widely, from 10,000 to three times that many."

Labels: homelessness, legislation

Labels: homelessness, outreach

"The youth foyer has been in the works for about four years, [Lorrie] Janatopoulos said, and will include 13 efficiency units and 2 two-bedroom units for parenting teens, along with a wide array of support services for the disadvantaged young adults aged 16-21."

Labels: at_risk, homelessness, support

"'A resolution and designated month will go a long way toward building awareness of the more than one million children and teens that are without homes and in crisis,' said Dan Schulman, CEO of Virgin Mobile USA. 'We trust November will serve as a call to action for Americans to learn more about this vital issue, as well as find ways to support the organizations working to help homeless youth in their own communities.'"

Labels: at_risk, awareness, homelessness