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What is our target population?
1) “Home push out” young adults, abandoned by their families at age 18 or younger. This phenomenon recently received national attention and is reflective of Nebraska “safe haven” laws where parents have been permitted to abandon their children up to age 18 without fear of prosecution.
Click here to go to the SF Gate article - "As in Nebraska, kids abandoned daily as in S.F."
2) Young people with absent parents due to mental illness, drug/alcohol, emotional, sexual and physical abuse and/or incarceration.
3) GLBTQ young adults and others who have exhausted all communication options with their parents and have been kicked out.
4) Transitional age youth who do not fit into the mental health, juvenile service or foster care funding streams and are not drug or alcohol addicted.
What is the breakdown of this population?
Demographics
- Almost all of our young adults (99%) live in poverty
- 77% are unemployed or struggling to stay employed, due to lack of stable housing
and support of an adult ally
12% are immigrants and 5% are monolingual Spanish speakers
Racial Diversity
What is it like to be a young adult and homeless in Marin?
Can you imagine yourself waking up daily….
not knowing where you will be living
feeling anxious, depressed, angry and hopeless on a daily basis
with no medical or dental care
feeling alone and lost
mistrusting the systems and adults who haven't been there for you
with the stress of carrying all your personal items from one place to another
with no financial reserves for emergencies
overwhelmed by lack of skills and resources to earn a living wage
This is the reality of life for our young adults who are homeless!
Statistics on youth 2 to 4 years after leaving the system….
35% are homeless
40% are on public assistance
50% are unemployed
25% of the males are incarcerated
50% girls have given birth
Why are so many of our young adults homeless today?
not prepared to live independently
no “safety net” - family to rely on
no guidance to obtain, navigate finding safe, stable housing
no money management, actual banking-checkbook experience
no experience /guidance in navigating leases, security deposits
no financial reserves for unexpected circumstances