The Invisible Population

The Invisible Population

There is an invisible population that is hiding in our society and affecting our youth – homeless and struggling teenagers. Not only are they homeless, but they face the problem of retaining an education due to this problem. This population of homeless teens is hard to identify because these students don’t seem to want to be found. They would rather fit in and not be singled out.

The Christian Science Monitor identifies ways to help these struggling teens by helping them to locate jobs, providing basic necessities, and help providing them with money for rent. In the article Making a Place for Homeless Teens, Stacy Teicher addresses the problem of the limited resources that these teens have in schools and education.

Obtaining a high school diploma is not a first priority for many of these teens, as they are forced to deal with many obstacles alone. In an article released by Stanford News Services, they compared the success of “street teens” and “sheltered teens.” Street teens were identified as those who remained on the street instead of seeking shelter and assistance, as sheltered teens were those who confided in these resources. In the findings of this study, street teens seemed to experience more health and behavioral problems, but remained interested in obtaining assistance. Perhaps a greater emphasis on outreach programs should be encouraged to reach out to these troubled teens.

There is obviously a growing need of independent living facilities that focus on education for high school students. Independent living services are designed to help a student graduate high school, attend college, and find a job. When students leave these programs, they are more likely to become homeless, uemployed, or arrested, according to the United States General Accounting Office article Foster Care: Effectiveness of Independent Living Services Unknown. A good support system is a main aspect of these facilities, and a structured program can provide just that.

Mentoring can have major positive effects on any individual, and for homeless teens it provides an alternative to parenting. In the Journal of Community Psychology, Community Organizing and Advocacy: Increasing the Quality and Qyantity of Mentoring Programs provides specific information on the positive effect of mentoring programs. Effective mentoring needs to be both indirect and direct and build a client-mentor relationship and can develop interconnections and interdependencies with different mentoring groups. There are many ways that communities should get involved with these mentoring programs. It is easy to gain volunteers through simple outreach and networking.

Fortunately, the Norman community has ILSY (Independent Services for Youth) to offer outreach to high school students that struggle with homelessness, unstable parenting, or financial insecurities. ILSY was formed in the early 1990s when high school counselors identified this “invisible population” because homeless teens were refused schooling because they lacked a parent signature. After attempts to change this law throughout the 90s, ILSY became a nonprofit organization in 1996. Funds were raised to build a student living center in 2005, and ILSY now owns 22-one-bedroom apartments to serve a shelter to these teens. ILSY serves a total of 110 students today, with 20 living on-site. Their mission is: “Empowering high school students to pursue education without obstacles.” ILSY’s main goal is to emphasize the importance of grades and behavior in and out of school.