Homelessness in Children: What Can We Do?
Mental Wellness Innovations (MWI) was launched to bring relief, comfort, resilience, and mental health literacy support to children who are suffering around the world.
Despite the saying that home is where the heart is, too many children in the world don’t have a place to call home. For millions of children, a safe, stable, and secure home is only a fantasy. For children who are homeless, the impact can be lifelong, affecting their future health, development, and potential. Not only can homelessness magnify crisis-related emotions like loneliness and displacement, but homeless children are more likely to suffer from health issues, experience developmental delays, and face barriers to education and social-emotional development.
The team at Mental Wellness Innovations (MWI) recognizes the long-term risks for children who experience homelessness – and we want to help. In the spirit of collective togetherness and shared responsibility, we are dedicated to making the world a better place, one step and one person at a time. We hope that you will find yourself moved to support MWI’s healing mission.
Causes of homelessness
Let’s take a closer look at some of the causes of child homelessness.
Family Conflict and Abuse: Many homeless youth have run away or been kicked out of their homes due to abuse, neglect, or other conflicts (such as domestic violence, parental substance abuse, or disagreements on the youth's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression).
Foster Care and the Child Welfare System: Youth who have been in foster care or the child welfare system are more likely to experience homelessness – especially after leaving the system.
Economic Hardship and Lack of Affordable Housing: Poverty and housing insecurity are major contributing factors to youth homelessness. Families may lose housing due to financial difficulties such as job loss, unpaid bills, or eviction.
Lack of Safe Options: The lack of safe and supportive housing options for unaccompanied youth and young adults can lead to homelessness, exacerbate their trauma and create barriers to stability and economic mobility.
Other Contributing Factors: Mental health issues, substance use disorders, and lack of social support can also increase the risk of youth homelessness. Additionally, youth who identify as LGBTQIA+, those with special needs or disabilities, and youth of color are at a higher risk to experience homelessness.
Statistics: Child Homelessness By The Numbers
Worldwide, an estimated 50 million children have been uprooted from their homes, 28 million of which have been displaced by conflict. After losing their homes, these children face the risk of drowning from flooding, malnourishment, trafficking, and violence*.
Here are some of the conflicts and disasters that are currently uprooting children from their homes across the world:
Los Angeles Wildfires: Close to 12,000 homes were damaged or destroyed in the recent LA wildfires. The destruction from these fires has exacerbated the already-existing housing crisis in Los Angeles County and increased the homeless population by the thousands.
Hurricanes and Flooding: This year, Hurricane Helene left 12,000 people homeless in western North Carolina. Preliminary totals from Hospitality House and other organizations in the area found that at least 2,600 people were experiencing homelessness in 25 counties.
Climate Change: According to the US EPA, climate change is causing extreme weather events – particularly floods and hurricanes – to increase in frequency and intensity. These natural disasters displace children and families from their homes and pose direct risks to their health, safety, and survival.
Syrian-Turkish Earthquake: The February 2023 earthquake and aftershocks in southern Turkey and northwest Syria caused widespread destruction and displacement, worsening the struggles of alreadydisplaced Syrians – particularly impacting youth.
Internal Displacement: War and other conflicts have displaced millions of children worldwide, leaving them vulnerable to violence and exploitation.
*Once displaced, children – particularly girls – are at an especially high risk for being kidnapped or trafficked. Youth who experience homelessness are at an increased risk of exposure to gun violence.
How Does Homelessness Impact Children and Families?
Studies show that children who do grow up in stable environments:
Develop stronger social skills due to more stable social connections (neighbors, sports, clubs, etc.)
Develop a more durable and positive self-esteem and self worth
Exhibit healthier physical development and brain development due to stable food access
Have access to environments in which healthy emotional and cognitive development is more likely to exist
On the contrary, homelessness qualifies as an Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE). Unless addressed early, ACEs can lead to long-lasting negative consequences to one’s physical and mental health.
Here are some reasons why homelessness is considered an ACE:
Family Separation: Homeless children often lose contact with their families and have no parents to help them find their way in the world.
Instability: Without a home base, these youth lack structure and dependable resources.
Health Risks: Homeless children are more likely to experience health problems such as chronic diseases, mental health conditions, and substance abuse. They also lack access to healthcare, which makes them more vulnerable to illnesses such as ear infections, asthma, and digestive issues.
Educational Disruption: Homeless youth are at a high risk to perform poorly in academics, repeat grades, be suspended or expelled, or drop out of school. This widens the achievement gap as they struggle to keep up with their peers.
Social Isolation: Without access to a safe community, homeless children cannot develop healthy relationships or social skills.The stigma associated with homelessness further isolates these children, setting them even further back in their social and emotional learning.
Toxic Stress: The chronic stress associated with homelessness can negatively impact brain development, the immune system, and the body's stress response.
Developmental Delays: These children often experience delays in their language and literacy skills. They may struggle with cognitive, physical, and socio-emotional development throughout their whole lives.
Homeless children are clearly unsafe and unprotected. They are at such a high risk of being exploited, experiencing violence, or becoming victims of trafficking and sexual assault. These factors lead to long-term consequences that are present throughout the rest of these children’s lives. MWI wants to help reduce these long-term effects.
Long-Term Risks
If the consequences of child homelessness are not addressed early on, homeless kids face the following:
Increased mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, behavioral difficulties, and learning disabilities
Trauma and PTSD as a result of any of the following: ○ Experiencing or witnessing violence
Physical or sexual abuse
Being bullied
Lack of trustworthy adults
Hypervigilance due to lack of structure or safety
Inability to navigate healthcare or mental health services as adults
Delays or absences in cognitive, emotional, and physical development, which can show up as:
Difficulty forming trusting relationships
Difficulty managing emotions
Unhealthy coping mechanisms (substance use, violence, etc.)
Lack of education and therefore the ability to contribute to society
What Can We Do For Children Who Are Homeless?
Here are some of the ways to help reduce the risks of child homelessness:
Support initiatives focused on long-term housing assistance
Support local community efforts that provide social, medical, and mental health services
Check out the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides food benefits to low-income households
Contact your local representatives and share your support of legislation that tackles child poverty
Specific interventions for homeless children and families
1. Therapy and Counseling
Individual therapy may include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and motivational interviewing to address trauma, mental health issues, and substance use.
Family therapy can help re-establish connections between youth and their families.
Parental monitoring intervention programs help build parenting skills and provide support for families.
2. Skills Building
Life skills such as job searching, budgeting, and managing finances, can be taught to youth to foster self-sufficiency.
Mindfulness training helps youth manage stress and emotions.
3. Case Management
Connecting with services: Case managers help youth access resources like shelter, housing, education, employment, and healthcare.
Ongoing support: Case managers provide ongoing guidance to help youth achieve their goals.
4. Structural Interventions
Housing that is safe and stable for youth is crucial for addressing homelessness.
Supportive services such as mental health care, substance abuse treatment, and job training can help meet the needs of homeless youth.
Prevention of homelessness via early intervention and support can help keep children from becoming homeless in the first place.
5. Additional Interventions
Street outreach and addictions services engage youth living on the street to connect them with services and support.
Mobile harm reduction programs provide harm reduction services, such as naloxone distribution, to reduce the risk of drug overdose.
Coordinated specialty care programs provide treatment to youth experiencing first-episode psychosis and help them stay in school or work, which can prevent prolonged homelessness.
A group called Housing First, aims to provide immediate access to permanent housing without preconditions, along with supportive services to help individuals address their needs.
Substance abuse treatment addresses drug and alcohol use, which often co-occurs with homelessness.
Mental health treatment provides support for youth with mental health conditions, which can be a significant barrier to housing and stability.
Education and employment help youth gain the skills and resources they need to become self-sufficient.
Safe sex education provides youth with information and resources to prevent sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancies.
Basic needs support ensures access to food, clothing, and other essential items.
Foster care support provides support for youth who have been in the foster care system and are at risk of homelessness.
How MWI is Working to Fight Negative Effects of Child Homelessness
Mental Wellness Innovations (MWI) has created the Feel Better Pack; a “first-aid” toolkit for mental health. Since most homeless children lack access to mental health services, MWI has created a toolkit that teaches them how to engage in self-care practices. Engaging in self-care helps rebalance the autonomic nervous system, and is a first step in softening the impact of the trauma that homelessness creates.
Each Feel Better Pack provides sensory toys and fidgets (think bubbles, puppets, and stress balls) that are paired with a specific self-care skill (e.g., bubbles = deep breathing). The packs create a positive association with regulation skills and give children control over their ability to regulate as they navigate their ACE-related trauma.
The purpose of these packs is to intercept a child at the point in their life where they develop unhealthy coping mechanisms, and instead teach them skills that they can depend on throughout their lives.
We have sent Feel Better Packs to Florida, North Carolina, Israel, Gaza, Kenya, South Africa, and Ukraine in the past 18 months. We are planning to send Feel Better Packs to California for children affected by wildfires – and we need your help.
Help us in our mission by making a donation. Learn more about MWI and what matters to us.
“The home is a place of comfort, belonging, and security, a source of strength and love. It provides a foundation for personal well-being and is a source of joy, warmth, and connection.”