For the kids who don’t return home : a peek into shelters and organizations who serve unaccompanied homeless youth
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Ariana N. Watkins (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
- Advisor
- Cindy Brooks Dollar
Abstract: While runaway and homeless youth have constituted a national problem for decades, this significant human trouble has been understudied among sociologists. North Carolina provides a particularly fruitful site for study with over 9,000 youth leaving home annually and over ten organizations operating to serve this population. As a result, the purpose of this thesis was to fill some of these gaps that exist in the literature regarding the experiences of runaway and homeless youth on a state level within North Carolina. Ten interviews were conducted with people who have worked with NC youth in any capacity related to youth homeliness and advocacy. In many cases the youth who need services and support are not able to receive them due systemic barriers. Many of the youth who utilize the services at the shelters and organizations interviewed will be labeled as “delinquents” or “bad kids” due to them exhibiting trauma response behaviors due to their circumstances. The result of this study shows that are dedicated individuals, shelters, and organizations in North Carolina who want to help youth experiencing crises, but more resources and services are needed. Youth in crises need compassion and understanding at the system-level.
For the kids who don’t return home : a peek into shelters and organizations who serve unaccompanied homeless youth
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Created on 8/1/2022
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Thesis
- Language: English
- Date: 2022
- Keywords
- Child abuse and neglect, Missing children, Unaccompanied homeless youth
- Subjects
- Youth shelters $z North Carolina
- Shelters for the homeless $z North Carolina
- Runaway children $z North Carolina
- Missing children $z North Carolina