Without A Home: The National Youth Homelessness Survey

Importantly, our data also shows that those
who left home for the first time before they
were 16 were much more likely to experience
multiple episodes of homelessness. Of that
group, just 13.7% reported only one experience
of homelessness. Among youth who had
multiple experiences of homelessness (86.7%),
almost 50% (49.8%) reported five or more
episodes. 1 Other groups reporting higher rates of
multiple experiences of homelessness included:
transgender and gender non-binary youth
(82.8%), LGBTQ2S youth (80.2%), Indigenous
youth (80.4%), and newcomer youth (64.3%).
This high level of housing
instability once again
suggests that by the time
young people access
homelessness services,
many have already
experienced homelessness
and housing instability
multiple times over many
years.
3.2 Significant Reasons For Leaving Home
Research on youth homelessness consistently identifies that difficult family situations and
conflict are key underlying factors that contribute to youth homelessness (Gaetz, 2014;
Karabanow, 2004; Karabanow & Naylor, 2013; Gaetz & O’Grady, 2002; Braitstein et al.,
2003; Hagan & McCarthy, 1997; Janus et al., 1995). In our survey, we asked young people to
indicate how ‘relevant’ a number of factors were in contributing to their leaving home. The
results of our survey corroborate findings of family conflict and relational dysfunction.
Conflicts with parents
It is well established that a majority of youth experiencing homelessness come from homes
with high levels of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse; interpersonal violence and
assault; parental neglect; and exposure to intimate partner violence (Ballon et al., 2001;
Gaetz et al., 2002; Karabanow, 2004, 2009; Rew, et al., 2001; Thrane et al., 2006; Tyler &
Bersani, 2008; Tyler et al., 2001; Van den Bree et al., 2009; Whitbeck and Hoyt, 1999). In
some cases, parental psychiatric disorders (Andres-Lemay et al., 2005) and addictions
(McMorris et al., 2002) may be factors.
1. The latter figure (49.85%) includes only those who have had more than one experience of homelessness.
WITHOUT A HOME: THE NATIONAL YOUTH HOMELESSNESS SURVEY
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