Youth Count! 2013
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Transcript of Youth Count! 2013
Billings, Montana
• 2012 Population:
106,954
• Area:
41.6 square miles
• 2013 HUD estimate:
338 homeless in
Billings
• 2013 Youth Count!
estimate: 73 homeless
Youth Count! 2013
Billings
Metro VISTA
Project
City of
Billings, Co
mmunity
Development
Division
Tumblewee
d
Youth Count! 2013
There was no accurate picture of the number, characteristics and needs of
homeless youth in Billings, Montana. Each January, communities across the
country conduct a census, Point-In-Time (PIT) count of their homeless
populations. Data on unaccompanied homeless youth is currently
unavailable, as a national standard for counting this cohort has not yet been
established. Available PIT data vastly under-represents the number of youth
experiencing homelessness and services required to impact poverty
conditions.
Youth Count! was sponsored by the City of Billings as a component of
Welcome Home Billings, the City's ten-year plan to impact homelessness.
This joint effort between Tumbleweed and the Billings Metro VISTA Project
originated through the City's Community Development Division
Definitions of Youth
Homelessness
Homeless: The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act definition of a homeless youth is any child or youth under the age of eighteen who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. For example, youth who reside in: runaway/homeless youth shelters; transitional housing; doubled-up in housing with other families or friends; couch-surfing; hotels or motels; shelters with family members; and campgrounds. The definition also includes those living in places unfit for human habitation, including cars, abandoned buildings, lots, parks, alleyways, uninhabitable trailers, or the streets.
Precariously Housed: Youth who are unaccompanied and on their own including those: in foster care and juvenile justice custody; who have left the system without a place to live; or placed into transitional housing including group homes, treatment centers and shelters.
At-Risk: Youth who are in danger of becoming precariously housed or homeless due to inadequate financial stability, lack of a sustainable family or support structure, etc.
Survey Instrument: Positive
Youth Developme
nt Model
7 page, 42 question survey
Questions included standard
demographics and housing
statusCompassionat
e understanding
without judgment
Youth Count! Data and
Findings
What do
you need
most in
your life
right now?
“A
family
—just
not
mine”
176 surveys were completed over a three day period
96 surveys were completed by youth ages 13-21
73 (76%) youth are experiencing homelessness
13 (14%) precariously housed youth
10 (10%) youth who are at-risk of homelessness
Overall Population: Surveyed
Youth
Male
50%
Female
50%
Gender96 Respondents
White
58%
Native
American
15%
African
American
4%
Hispanic/Latino
6%
Multi-Racial
12%
Asian/Pacific
Islanders
2%Unknown
3%
Race / Ethnicity96 Respondents
56
17
22
17
10
4
6
9
Thirteen Fourteen Fifteen Sixteen Seventeen Eighteen Nineteen Twenty Twenty one
Age by Number of Responses96 Respondents
Yes
46%
No
54%
Access to Government
Identification41 Respondents+
Yes
60%
No
40%
Access to Birth
Certificate42 Respondents+
Yes
63%
No
37%
Access to
Social Security Card41 Respondents+
< One Week
13%
> One Week
16%
> One Month
38%
> Year
33%
How long have you been without a
permanent place to live?45 Respondents
Outside
64%
Friend's
House/Couch
Surfing
13%
Legal
Guardian
9%
Group Home
6%
Shelter
2%
Treatment Center
2%
Caretaker
1%
Car
1% Parking
Garage
1%
Pre-Release
1%Other
8%
Where did you sleep last night?88 Respondents: Open-ended question, 88 responses indicated
Where did you sleep last night?
3
3
3
5
5
7
10
23
32
56
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Other*
Shelter/Youth Shelter
Foster Care
Doubled-Up
Car
Group Home
Caretaker/Not Legal Guardian
Legal Guardian
Friend's House/Couch Surfing
Outside
Where do you usually sleep?96 Respondents - Question indicated 'check all that apply'
Yes
33%
No
67%
Have you been in foster care?36 Respondents+
One respondent had been
with 10foster parents.
Another respondent had lived
in 13different foster homes
Elementary
2%Middle
School
13%
High School
58%
HS
Diploma/GED
27%
Highest Education Level45 Respondents+
Have
you
ever
been
bullied?
“They
cyber
bullied
me so
bad I
[was]
suicida
l”
Yes69%
No29%
Not Sure2%
Have you ever been bullied?
45 Respondents
Physical
13%
Verbal87%
Type of Bullying23 Respondents
4
7
13
6
12
1413
7
Week or less Less than a
Month
Month or
more
Year or more Never Don't know
Last time seen by a health care professional?33/34 Respondents+
Doctor Dentist
Yes
52%
No
48%
Diagnosed Mental Health Condition?46 Respondents+
Do you
have any
diagnose
d mental
health
condition
s?
“ Not
yet ”
6
2
4
4
7
8
11
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Other*
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Anxiety
Attention Deficit Disorder
Clinical Depression
Bi-Polar Disorder
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Diagnosis42 Respondents+ - Question allowed multiple responses
*Other includes one response for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and one response for each of the
following disorders: Autism Spectrum; Obsessive Compulsive; Oppositional Defiant; Reactive
Attachment; and Intellectual Disability.
What is it that
you feel you
don’t have
control over?
“My
life, becau
se my dad
won’t let
me be who
I want to
be”
None
3%
One
31%
Two
23%
Three or
more
43%
How many caregivers have
you grown up with?35 Respondents+
22
32
36
25
21
25
18
13
25
29
3
01
0 0
Emotionally
Supportive?
Told you to leave
home?
Cursed at you? Made you feel
unsafe?
Used drugs in the
home?
Questions Relating to Primary Caregivers50 Respondents
Yes No Sometimes
Treatment/
Support
5% Education
7%
Health Care
22%
Housing
24%
Food
42%
Services Utilized
Responses also
included
identification of
the following
organizations
utilized for
services:
- Tumbleweed
- The HUB
- Montana
Rescue
Mission
- Saint Vincent
de Paul
Transportation
4%Legal
8%
Housing
14%
Treatment*
16%Job/$
29%
Family Issues
29%
Barriers to services
2
4
5
7
7
7
10
13
Transportation
Employment
Day Center/Place*
Clothing
Housing
Treatment
Food
Family/Support
What do you need most in your life?37 Respondents - 55 issues identified in narrative responses
5
4
5
11
11
*Other
Day Center/Entertainment/Recreation
Support/Services
Housing
Entertainment/Recreation
What services/programs does Billings need?40 Respondents - 36 issues identified in narrative responses
15 total responses for a Day Center, indoor entertainment and recreation, parks, sports
and places to hang out. *Other includes one response for each of the following:
transportation, spiritual establishment, employment, elder services and alternative school.
Citations and Information
City of Billings, Community Development
Division, Homeless Initiatives:
http://ci.billings.mt.us/youthcount
Joshua J. Downes & Chelsia Davis
AmeriCorps VISTA, Billings Metro VISTA Project