1/12/2009 3:26:00 PM Shedding light on teen struggles
To participate
On Wednesday, Jan. 21 host a viewing party. Invite classmates, friends, neighbors and colleagues to your home, office, school or place or worship. Watch the documentary "Homeless Youth: Finding Home." Pick up a free DVD, along with discussion questions and an action packet, at Teens Alone, 915 Mainstreet, Hopkins. Call 952-988-4086 or e-mail lydia@teensalone.org or go to www.teensalone.org. If you can't attend a viewing party, you can watch the documentary at www.youthmovingforward.org.
To learn more about work being done to help homeless teens in Minnesota go to:
"Homelessness among teens is more hidden in the suburbs, but that doesn't mean these kids don't exist," said Lydia Kihm, executive director of Teens Alone, a nonprofit organization in Hopkins that serves runaway teens and homeless youth.
"They aren't visible. They don't sleep under overpasses. They tend to couch-hop. They go from one friend's house to another, sleeping on the couch, until the friend's parent eventually gets sick of them and kicks them out," Kihm said.
"Every time I speak to a Rotary club or a church group, at least one person always raises their hand and says they've had one of those kids on their couch," she said.
The adults providing these couches don't usually think of these kids as homeless, and, said Kihm, "the kids don't tend to think of themselves as homeless because they have a roof over their heads and they have access to a shower."
"The problem is though," Kihm said, "that sooner or later, the couches dry up and then the kids are out on the street, and half of the kids who are out on the street for just 48 hours say they've already been asked to barter sex for services."
Teens Alone serves youth in the St. Louis Park, Hopkins, Eden Prairie, Wayzata and Orono school districts.
In the past year alone, it provided free counseling to more than 300 youth and 150 parents, all of whom were dealing with some sort of housing upheaval. According to the Wilder Foundation, every night in Minnesota, between 550 and 650 youth ages 11 to 17 are homeless.
Those numbers increase to between 700 and 1,650 youth facing homelessness every night when the age bracket is increased to 18-21, according to the Wilder Foundation.
"Too many people living in the West Metro don't know that we have a homeless youth problem," said Kihm, "but if you walk into any of the high schools out here, you can find a suburban kid who is homeless, and these kids come from every race, language group and income level."
Most of the students Teens Alone counsels are referred by schools, religious centers and police officers.
Some have run away from a foster home. Others are trying to escape parents with severe mental illnesses and/or chemical dependencies. More and more of these teens are coming from families who've lost a home to foreclosure.
Now, in an effort to address the issue of teen homelessness in the state of Minnesota, Sen. Scott Dibble and Rep. Karen Clark, who both represent neighborhoods in southern Minneapolis, have co-authored a bill called the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act. It seeks $8 million to address the issue throughout the state.
This current legislative session will be the second time the act is presented to state legislators.
The first time was in 2007. Then, the act also sought $8 million, of which it was granted $1 million.
Teen homelessness, however, has not abated, so the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act has returned with its original asking amount intact.
It's a hefty price tag, especially this year. Just last week, state legislators returned to St. Paul and have already been told they must deal with a projected deficit of more than $4 billion. Cuts to nearly every aspect of the state's budget are looming.
Kihm acknowledged the current grim fiscal situation, but argued the importance of the act. Further economic declines, she said, will only result in an increased number of homeless youth.
"Families are stressed and they are in need. A lot of parents are simply trying to keep their heads above water. They are uninsured, they are in danger of losing their housing, they've already lost their jobs," Kihm said.
Trying to curb what they feel might be a coming wave of teen homelessness, social service organizations that support runaway and homeless youth, including Teens Alone, want to create grassroots support for the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act.
Kihm stressed the importance of moving quickly to stabilize this support. If public support is wide, organized and vocal, it is hoped that lawmakers will give the act more careful consideration.
For this reason, Teens Alone is offering a free, 30-minute, DVD documentary about homelessness among Minnesota teens to anyone interested in hosting a viewing party on Wednesday, Jan. 21. The hope is that 100 viewing parties will take place across the state on that night.
The documentary, called "Homeless Youth: Finding Home," was co-produced by tptMN and the Wilder Foundation. In it, homeless, Minnesota teens tell their personal stories.
The DVD comes with a free packet designed to stimulate group discussion and spur political action. It includes statistics about youth homelessness in Minnesota, a petition of support and a sample letter of support to legislators.
"Even if you can't host a party on the 21st, still host one," said Kihm.
"The earlier we can get letters to the legislators the better," she said. "We'd love to be done with this push by early February."
If the full $8 million in funding were to pass, several initiatives across the state designed to address teen homelessness would push forward. Should this happen, Kihm hopes to see the construction of a bricks and mortar shelter in the West Metro that is reserved for homeless youth. Such a shelter, said Kihm, is badly needed.
"Our suburban youth especially don't want to go into the city to find shelter," said Kihm. "They don't know anyone there. They don't know how to get around, and they know that they aren't street smart."
"Homeless teens want to stay in their own communities. Maybe they have an after-school job bagging groceries, something that gives them a sense of regularity. They all want to stay in their home school where they have friends, belong to a sports team, or have that one special teacher who offers support," Kihm said.
"Investing in homeless youth is really an investment in the future," Kihm said. "To me, it just seems like a logical way to spend our money."
