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EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the first of many interviews that Ventura County resident Kathleen Roos has conducted with immigrants from countries with oppressive gov
By Douglas Partello
It is hard for us to imagine our own child out at night without a jacket, no less all night, without shelter, night after night, on the streets. According to The National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) there are an estimated 4.2 million youth and young adults, 16-24, who experience homelessness, 700,000 unaccompanied minors. On any given night, approximately 41,000 unaccompanied youth, ages 13-25, experience homelessness.
The National Center For Housing and Child Welfare estimates between one million, and 1.7 million runaways, or children asked by parents to leave the home. These youth are particularly vulnerable, and often victimized. The U.S. Dept. of HHS states that 71.7% report major trauma, such as physical or sexual abuse, 79.5% PTSD for more than a month, and 61.8% report depression. Former foster youth are at risk of homelessness after aging out of foster care at 18.