Kids with no safe place to rest at night are becoming chronically homeless adults

California has the highest number of homeless youth, and more than 60% of these young people are unsheltered. Yet only 3.4% of the beds in the state’s shelter and transitional housing systems are dedicated to youth.

Our safety net designed to protect kids and youth is failing, leading them to a life of homelessness. 

I know what it feels like to be a young person searching for safety and a place to sleep. I had to navigate the streets of Los Angeles County with no stable place to call home. 

I entered California’s child welfare system at birth and spent my childhood in foster care. At age 16, I found myself in a youth homelessness shelter in Hollywood. My story took me from sleeping on the streets, bouncing from place to place, to even riding the Metro from Santa Monica to Whittier to find a safe place to rest...[Continue Reading Here]