Formal Education

• The lack of a high school diploma or General Equivalency Diploma (GED) is the number one correlate for elevated risk of youth homelessness. 

• As stated in the video, just having somewhere to complete their homework is a challenge. Homeless youth often miss school, are bullied in school, or are too distracted because of extreme hunger or fatigue.
   

Hygiene

• Children who live on the street, in a car, or somewhere else have many limits to staying clean. Many go days without showering or brushing their teeth and have limited access to hygiene products.

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Food and Nutrition

• ​Health food is a "luxury" in most cases because it is more expensive and less accessible than processed junk food. therefore, homeless children often have poor diets, and eat whatever they can whenever they can. They are constantly afraid of when their next meal will be.

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Health Care

• Many homeless children cannot afford and do not have access to healthcare. Those who ran away from family or have no family do not have them to rely on for health care, doctors' appointments, and more.

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Sexual Activity

• ​​According to studies cited by the Department of Health and Human Services, "With few other ways to earn a living, countless homeless adolescents use sex as a means of survival. In fact, the vast majority of them become sexually active at a young age and face more STI exposure than their non-homeless counterparts" (DHHS, 2014).

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Mental Health

• 69% of homeless youth report mental health problems

• Homeless youth rarely have access to proper mental health services, medications, and therapy.

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Weather

• Michigan temperatures can drop well below zero degrees in the winter. Living in a car, on the street, or in an unfit home without proper heating and insulation can be a threat to one's life, causing hypothermia, frostbite, numbness, and even death.