Down But Not Out

Read a lengthy, detailed report concerning certain aspects of some of the lives and experiences of those who face living unhoused (aka homeless) in Burlington, Vermont, here [via Vermont Cynic - weekly student newspaper for the University of Vermont (Tuesday, February 20, 2007)].

fyi: Committee on Temporary Shelter (COTS)

Ducky Doolittle's Talking Points

Ducky Doolittle was one of the co-hosts during the 2:00 AM [EST) long program talking from experience about: Why Do So Many Foster Kids Wind Up On The Streets?

[...] Co-Hosts: Ducky Doolittle, a rape crisis counselor and sex educator who became a street prostitute when she first got our of foster care, and Richard Wexler, director of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform and author of "Wounded Innocents: The Real Victims of the War Against Child Abuse," and Jennifer Rowan, a formerly homeless former foster kid now the Fresno County Youth Advocate.

[via Homelessness Marathon 2007 Schedule]

Ducky blogged up their talking points used while on-air during the hour of discussion concerning the link between foster care systems and homelessness (excerpted):

[...]

Fostercare is the
fast track to homelessness

AGED-OUT FOSTER KIDS FACE
-very high rates of homelessness
-don’t have enough food to eat
-don't go on to college
-only 46% have a high school diploma
-have mental health problems
-have very unstable living arrangements
-face eviction
-move around a lot
-involved with the criminal justice authorities. (arrested or incarcerated)
-often victimized physically or sexually


THEY NEED LIFE SKILLS
Money management
Budgeting
employment support
educational support (college entry)
Health care
Shopping
cooking, nutrition
Sexuality
ResourcesRole Models


THE FACTS
PBS program Age Out
Nationwide, an estimated 30,000 adolescents age out of the foster care system each year. According to the Child Welfare League of America, 12-36 percent become homeless, 56 percent are unemployed, 27 percent of male children end up in jail. (Nearly 11,000 kids a year go homeless.)

Charlotte Observer
Reports 1 in 8 go homeless in North Carolina.

mnhomelesscoalition.org
Approximately 2,000 youth age out of foster care each year in Minnesota. (More than 500 kids a year go homeless.)

These are just the kids they can track.
Kids slip through the cracks. Disappear. Move.
For example, in MN cases were closed on 261 youth who were runaways from placement and 189 youth listed as "missing data."


WHAT CAN YOU DO?
-Mentor older kids and help them make and independent living plans
-Take in older foster kids. Keep them for their lifetime as family.
-Create a resource list for homeless kids in your neighborhood with a list of drop in centers, clinics, soup kitchens, food pantries... you can get some resources here: Cwla.org. Copy it and keep copies in your wallet to give homeless people who are about 24 and under. Create on for adults as well.


WHERE I GOT MY FACTS:
On the streets. I lived it.
http://www.jimcaseyyouth.org/docs/media_art_charobserver.pdf
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/youth/jan-june05/foster_care_5-19.html
http://www.mnhomelesscoalition.org/resources/toolkits/foster-care-toolkit/challenges/
http://www.villagevoice.com/news/9944,kihara,9673,5.html
http://www.cwla.org/programs/fostercare/agingoutresources.htm

[via Ducky DooLittle (excerpted), here (If the kids were united, we could never be divided!: Wednesday, February 21, 2007)]

In the News: Homeless find platform on radio ...

Fresno chosen for annual show to call attention to city sweeps, here [via The Fresno Bee; Wednesday, February 21, 2007 (includes photos)].

Last Hour, Waning Minutes

Nobody (Jeremy Weir Alderson) grills President Bush's Homelessness Czar, Phil Mangano, Director of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness concerning the Bush Record On Homelessness.


[photo via the Homelessness Marathon Tabernacle of Truth live Webcam]