"Are there really teens and youth that are homeless in western Nebraska?"
Yes. In fact, the Transitional Living Program has been at maximum capacity for the last 5 years. Two to three times the capacity apply annually.
"Where are these youth? I don't see them sleeping under a park bench."
Homelessness in rural areas like western Nebraska looks very different than the "traditional" picture we have of homelessness. The majority of homelss and runaway youth survive by "shacking up" or "crashing" at the homes of people they know or come in contact with through street activities. Many times 2 or more youth will have the temporary means to rent a substandard apartment or trailer home. When word gets out among their homelss friends, soon there are five or more youth living in one apartment or trailer home. Often times this leads to partying, excessive noise, or lease violations. This in turn puts all of the youth out on the street with no place to live. The youth in a rural setting have fewer survivial options than their urban counterparts as as a result are quicker to adopt high risk survival strategies shortly after finding themselves on the street.
"Why do they run away from home?"
Abuse is the main reason that teens run away from home. The University of Nebraska, Department of Sociology interviewed 454 teens. Here are their answers:
Made you go the day without food or water: 20.3% said yes.
Abandoned you for at least 24 hours: 42.4% said yes.
Threw something at you in anger: 71% said yes.
Pushed or grabbed you in anger: 84.2% said yes.
Slapped on on the head or face with an opened hand: 76.9% said yes.
Beat you with fists: 42.4% said yes.
Verbally or physically threatened you with a weapon: 22.4% said yes.
Ever forced to do something sexual: 22.3% said yes.
Ever asked you to do something sexual: 19.5% said yes.
"What happens to a youth who doesn't access a shelter?"
The longer a youth is on the street with no permanent place to call home the more likely they are to find that there is a network of people all too eager to harbor runaway and homeless youth. This network involves individuals who use youth for purposes of running drugs, prostitution, and sexual exploitation in return for supplying their basi needs. Drug trafficking is prevalent across Interstate 80 and includes regular runs to smaller communities throughout the panhandle. These drug trafficking routes offer a kind of "underground railroad" for homeless and runaway youth to move from community to community while being involved in high-rise surivial behaviors.
"What will it cost if just one youth does not get the needed help?"
According to the National Institute of Justice allowing just one youth to fall through the cracks and end up involved in the criminal justice system will cost society 2 million dollars in their lifetime. When you consider our average over four years of a 73% success rate in our TLP program alone, we save you literally millions of dollars.
"Do your youth programs really work?"
Yes! We have exceeded our targets every year! In 2002 a total of 78% of our TLP residents successfully completed the program...that exceeded the funder's expectations for the year 2010! Since that time our success rate has remained consistently above the minimum standard with a success rate ranging from 69% to 78%.
