Homeless youth tell Oakland officials to take action

On any given night in Oakland, hundreds of young people search the city for a safe place to sleep, most ending up in cars and tents, and some in shelters. 

Hundreds more regularly crash on friends’ or relatives’ couches—falling under the radar of government officials and service providers, but nevertheless experiencing a level of housing insecurity that has devastating effects on their lives.

“When youth cannot obtain stable housing, they cannot establish permanent social ties, focus on education and employment, improve their health, develop independence, or gain self-mastery,” wrote members of the Oakland Youth Advisory Commission in a new report that sheds light on the city’s homelessness crisis as experienced by children and transitional-age youth up to 24. [Continue Reading Here].