The Simplistic Value of Safety

Recently, I wrote about different types of homeless high school students and the challenges they face. After I posted the story I was unsettled about what I wrote; it seemed incomplete and I felt there was more to the story. When dealing with minors, it is important not to exclude the human element. Various federal agencies define homelessness differently, and a particular definition caught my attention for a very specific reason: the simplicity of a theme every child craves.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), a homeless youth is "an individual who is not more than 21 years of age…for whom it is not possible to live in a safe environment with a relative...and someone who has no other safe alternative living arrangement."*

The key word in this definition is 'safe.' Safety is the theme that comforts some kids while the lack of it propels others into a world they never imagined. We use this word all the time, in many ways because it is multi-layered. Safety is a relative term because it is always defined by whatever form of danger we face at any given moment. There is no real absolute standard of safety because every person deals with different scenarios and situations that provide varying levels of danger.

For some, safety means rescue from a physically abusive situation. Others find it in a job that provides a dependable income. Safety can be an emotional environment, free from verbal or psychological terror. It could be a place where someone knows they have shelter and food. Safety depends a great deal on the individual person whatever is needed. So in the scope of the DHHS statement, safety means two specific things when it comes to contextualizing a situation that might lead to teenage homelessness.

The first designation deals with familial relations. In a perfect world, a person's family would be a place of unconditional love and support is found. Unfortunately, the exact opposite often happens and some youth are compelled to leave their home environment because it lacks the safety they need to survive. It seems a logical inference can be drawn that if more youth had safer home environments, they would not leave.

The next factor involved with prompting youth to embrace homelessness is a lack of a safe living arrangement once the decision to leave the family is made. Again, the emphasis revolves around the concept of safety. Being homeless has several implications and, chief among them, is danger. This cannot be stressed enough and I think it gets lost in the dialogue sometimes.

I've chronicled the dangers of homelessness numerous times but we often don't remember that youth make a significant portion of the homeless population. At a crucial time in their lives when they should be allowed to simply be kids, many youth have to focus on their survival because they are in unsafe family environments. How heartbreaking that thousands of kids might never experience the dangers and horrors of being homeless if they had a safe place to call home.


*Section 887(3) of the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act