Ending Youth Homelessness

Homeless youth and young adults are young people between the ages of 12 and 24 who are "unaccompanied," meaning they are not part of a homeless family.

Many have been in foster care or difficult home situations for a large part of their childhood, and for one reason or another, end up on their own and without any means of support. Some aged out of the foster care system at age 18 unprepared for life as an independent adult. All have experienced some kind of trauma since they landed on the street and many come from a childhood full of traumatic experiences.

Youth and young adults who are homeless have different needs than adults. To move off the street, they require highly specialized services and support.

United Way of King County funds innovative programs to serve this uniquely vulnerable population. We help provide shelter, mental health services, substance abuse treatment and job training so that these young people can regain stability and look toward a future of possibility and hope.

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN OUR COMMUNITY

• Approximately 1,000 young people between 18 and 25 years of age are homeless every night in King County.
• It has been estimated that up to 35 percent of homeless youth experience physical or sexual abuse. 
• A disproportionate number of LGBTQ youth experience homelessness based on lack of tolerance. While 3-5 percent of the U.S. population identifies as gay or lesbian, up to 43 percent of homeless youth identify as gay or lesbian. In one study, 26 percent of gay teens who came out to their parents/guardians were told they must leave home.