Homeless Youth: Alone and Adrift

System Technology Requirements

Please ensure your viewing device complies with the following recommendation:

• Must be on a device that allows you to view MP4 files
• Ensure you have a strong enough internet speed to stream
• Ensure you don't have firewalls blocking the video (some firewalls block some HTTP addresses)

Description:

Each year, roughly 1.7 million youth under the age of 18 experience homelessness. Although many of these youth return home, 380,000 remain without a home for over one week. If young adults under the age of 24 are included in these statistics, the number of youth and young adults experiencing homelessness for over one week jumps to 550,000. Running away, “aging out” of foster care, and exiting the juvenile justice system are examples of reasons that lead homelessness among youth. This course offers definitions, statistics, and characteristics of youth experiencing homelessness. It also offers tips for working with youth experiencing homelessness and highlights programs who have worked with this population.

Who should take this module:

• Frontline workers

Learning objectives:

• Identify three effective strategies for working with youth who are experiencing homelessness
• Describe the causes of youth homelessness
• Describe the impact of homelessness on young people

Meet the authors:

Wayne Centrone, MD, is a primary care physician and public health expert. Dr. Centrone serves as a Subject Matter Expert at C4 for integrated care delivery, housing, homelessness, and behavioral health. Dr. Centrone has over 20 years of clinical, leadership and management experience in the homeless assistance network and community-based healthcare organizations. Dr. Centrone has worked as the lead administrator for a number of high-level activities through C4 technical assistance contracts with SAMHSA. In addition, Dr. Centrone has been the principal investigator or co-investigator for a number of projects focused on the complex needs of people experiencing homelessness or challenged by mental health and substance use conditions under funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Council of State Governments, Justice Center and the Department of Education, National Resource Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention. Dr. Centrone creates and oversees the development of TA curriculum and products to assist SAMHSA grantees in implementing evidence-based practices. Prior to joining C4, Dr. Centrone was the medical director of an outreach program at a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) and a senior level administrator at a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) funded Community Health Center. In addition to his work domestically, Dr. Centrone is the Executive Director of Health Bridges International, Inc. And works extensively in global health and social outreach – spending time internationally helping to develop and promote public health and primary care programs and projects for youth, young adults, and underserved communities.  

Megan Edson Grandin, MPH, is an Associate at C4 Innovations and a public health professional with experience in writing, copy editing, developing curricula, project coordination, and research, as well as strong skill in media and communications. Prior to joining C4 in 2010, Ms. Grandin served as a Senior Program Analyst at The National Center on Family Homelessness, where she co-authored several papers and reports; provided training and technical assistance to homeless service providers; and coordinated a variety of projects, including the Chronic Homelessness Initiative, the Campaign to End Child Homelessness, the Strengthening at Risk and Homeless Young Mothers and Children Initiative, and the Physical and Emotional Awareness for Children who are Homeless (PEACH) initiative. She has developed online training modules for the T3 Institute, and has experience developing curricula. Ms. Grandin received her B.A. in English from Stony Brook University, and her Master’s Degree from the Boston University School of Public Health, focused in Maternal and Child Health. 

Module facts: 

• Subject: Homeless youth
• Length: Most can complete in 1 hour
• Course type: Asynchronous, home study
  • Participants will watch pre-recorded videos and be quizzed on the knowledge they learn afterwards 
• Content level: Introductory
• Covered topics: homelessness, homeless youth, youth, runaway youth
• Fees: $50 (unless a basic or advanced subscriber)

Refund and Cancellation policy:

Access is automatically provided to this module once purchased. Therefore, no refund will be given. For special circumstances, C4 may cancel your registration and move your credit to another module of equal value. 

Accommodations 

If you need accommodations for disability, please contact Program Manager, Marsha Kubyshko at training@c4innovates.com.

Grievances 

If you would like to report a complaint, please contact Associate Director, Rachel Ehly at rehly@c4innovates.com. 

Related resources:

• Homelessness in America
• Who is Homeless and Why?