Couch hopping is a significant feature of youth homelessness in the United States. Every year, half of youth ages 18 to 25 who experience housing instability report couch hopping--also known as couch surfing or doubling up. Emerging work suggests that in some intergenerational informal hosting arrangements, youth and their adult hosts can form…

High level of mental health problems are a critical concern among youth experiencing or at-risk of homelessness. Using data from a randomized controlled trial on Housing First in Canada, this study examined the risk factors and protective resources associated with mental health recovery among 215 homeless youth with mental illness at baseline and…

This study used the risk and resilience framework to examine predictors of formal and informal sources of income among homeless young adults. Formal sources of income generation consisted of full-time, part-time, or paid, temporary work. Informal sources included earning money from selling personal possessions, selling drugs, and theft. In all,…

Services for homeless youth traditionally provided shelter and nourishment but do little to break the cycle of homelessness. A more comprehensive approach to serve homeless youth is the drop-in center model that provides safe and easy-to-find facilities within communities to bridge the gap between the streets and transitional/permanent housing.…

The present study examines risk factors for running away and homelessness among a sample of more than 7,000 currently housed youth using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Structural equation modeling results revealed that those with greater levels of family instability and those who ran away at Wave 2 were…