He traditional
American dream of owning a home, obtaining a college education, and working at
a good, paying job is only that, a dream, for scores of homeless youth in
America today. There is a growing street population of young people who have
been thrown out of their homes by their caretakers or their families, and who
face life-threatening situations each day. For these youth, the furthest thing
in their lives is reaching the so-called “American Dream;” and their most
immediate need is survival, simply living out the day in front of them. They
have few options that lead to a decent and safe living environment. Their age,
lack of work experience, and absence of a high school diploma make it most
difficult to find a job. As a result, they turn to other means for survival;
runaways and throwaways are most vulnerable to falling prey to the sex trade,
selling drugs, or being lured into human trafficking, and some steal or
panhandle. Street youth end up spending their nights in bus stations or finding
a room in an abandoned building or an empty stairwell to sleep. Attempting to
identify a specific number of homeless youth is difficult at best, but what is
even more perplexing is our continued inability to effectively protect our
children. We are left with a basic question framed by the fundamental tenets of
justice: what is a community’s responsibility to its youth who, for whatever
reason, end up living on the streets or in unsafe, abusive environments? The
purpose of this paper is to briefly outline the characteristics of homeless
youth, in particular differentiating between throwaways and runaways; explore
the current federal response to homeless youth; and finally, address the
nagging question that swirls around all children: can we aggressively aspire to
be a community where every child is healthy and safe, and able to realize his
or her fullest potential?
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