Youth Homelessness Trends Over the Years - The Stats.
- Power to the Youth Toronto
- Feb 6, 2023
- 2 min read
Homelessness is a serious issue affecting millions of students nationwide. Between 2017 and 2018, the number of students experiencing homelessness decreased by 8%. The number of homeless students decreased by 15% between 2018 and 2019. However, between 2004 and 2005, there was an average annual increase in homeless youth of 5%. Homelessness is more prevalent in certain demographics: young Black people experience homelessness nearly three times as often as white peers; young Hispanic people experience homelessness nearly twice as often; LGBTQ youth are over twice as likely to be homeless than their peers who are not LGBTQ, and youth who have not completed high school face almost three times the risk of becoming homeless than graduates.
The COVID-19 pandemic has also resulted in an increase in the number of homeless students. In addition, 107,301 children were living with families in 2018 (a 107% increase from 2015), but only 122,901 children living with families during 2015 (a 122% increase from 2015). This means that there were more than 400% more children living with families in 2018 than in 2015!
Additionally, there has been a significant increase in the number of students who experienced homelessness over the last 25 years and this trend is not expected to change any time soon. In 2018 alone, 1.5 million students were enrolled in public schools nationwide (a 15% increase from 2015) but only 14% fewer students experienced homelessness that year compared with 2019 (2%).
It can be difficult for those who have not experienced homelessness themselves to empathize with others who have been through it—especially when they don't understand why someone would choose to live on the streets. However, we all need to understand that the number of homeless people is increasing drastically with each passing year.
References:
Researcher: Lindsay Zhong
Editor: Sumaya Osman
Date published: February 6th 2023
Comments