Homelessness Statistics

Did you know that....

♥The typical homeless person in America is a child (The Institute for Children and Poverty).

♥An estimated two thirds of all young people with mental health problems are not getting the help they need (U.S Department of Health and Human Services, Sub-stance Abuse and Mental Health-Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services).

♥Less than one third of the children under age 18 with a serious disturbance receive any mental health services. Often the services they receive are inappropriate (Children’s Defense Fund). • Recent studies show that, at any given time, as many as one in every 33 children may have clinical depression. The rate of depression among adolescents may be as high as one in eight (Center for Mental Health Services).

♥Suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15-24 year olds and the sixth leading cause of death for 15 year olds (American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry).

♥Of the 100,000 teenagers in juvenile detention, estimates indicate that 60 percent have behavioral, mental, or emotional problems (Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 1994).