The Beat: Safety
"A Family Intervention to Reduce Sexual Behavior, Substance Use, and Delinquency Among Newly Homeless Youth." Journal of Adolescent Health, Vol. 50, No. 4, April 2012.
What it’s about: Support to Reunite, Involve and Value Each Other, or STRIVE, is a five-session, in-home program that aims to repair homeless youths’ relationships with their families. Researchers wanted to see how well the intervention worked at keeping homeless 12- to 17-year-olds from having risky sex, using drugs and getting in trouble with the law. Each STRIVE session uses cognitive-behavioral theories, which help families learn better problem-solving and conflict-resolution skills.
Why read it: Researchers have found a number of programs, curricula and practices that improve the education, employment, family relationships and health of at-risk youth in general....
Social Control Correlates of Arrest Behavior Among Homeless Youth in Five U.S. Cities (abstract), Violence and Victims, Volume 26, Number 5, 2011.
What it’s about: Researchers interviewed 238 homeless youth from five large U.S. cities about their time spent on the street, employment history, substance use, mental health, criminal history and use of social services. The researchers wanted to know which factors were associated with more criminal activity and higher rates of arrest among homeless youth.
Why read it: To survive on the streets, some homeless youth engage in illegal activities like prostitution, theft and selling drugs. When these youth want to leave the streets, having a criminal record can keep them from getting the services and support they need.
By understanding the factors that make homeless youth more...
School should be a safe space for all students to learn. But too often lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth are taunted and bullied in class, the hallways and the schoolyard.
A new online workshop from national sex education organization Answer focuses on making schools more inclusive and increasing awareness of LGBTQ issues. Called LGBTQ Issues in Schools, the workshop provides strategies, resources, and interactive exercises for health professionals and teachers working with middle school and high school students. It also highlights the importance of acknowledging LGBTQ youth in life education and health classes. And it provides specific suggestions for incorporating LGBTQ issues into sex education.
Answer has also...
The National Institute on Drug Abuse's Easy-to-Read Drug Facts site is just that: Easy to read.
The site talks about drug abuse, addiction and treatment in short sentences and plain English. Pages can be easily printed out for people who don't have computers. And users can listen to pages if they prefer that to reading.
The site is a good tool if you work with young people and families who have difficulty reading or understanding English. You'll find:
- A guide to drugs that people abuse, including marijuana, painkillers and alcohol. The guide lists each drug's effects and impact on the body, slang names for the drug, and personal stories from recovered addicts.
- Advice for parents on how to keep young people drug-free. ...
Seems like there’s never enough time to do all the things that need to be done to make the world a better place. Maybe that’s why Global Youth Service Day -- the largest and longest-running service event in the world, and the only day of service dedicated to children and youth -- is actually a weekend. Mark your calendar for April 20-22, 2012.
But don't stop there. Here are three things you can do to use Global Youth Service Day as a springboard for a year's worth of community service:
1. Help youth to plan and do a community service activity in April. Last year, NCFY talked to a Honolulu mentoring program before and after the big day to find out how their project went.
2. Learn about the best ways to...
In honor of National Child Abuse Prevention Month, here are five NCFY articles about how youth-serving organizations can help victims and prevent further abuse:
1. NCFY Recommends: Hotline Helps Child Abuse Victims 24/7
Every ten seconds, child abuse is reported in the United States. Anonymous help for victims and their families can be found by calling Childhelp's National Child Abuse Hotline 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
2. Q&A: Kathryn S. Krase on Mandated Reporting for Youth-Serving Organizations
Recent allegations of child sexual abuse in a youth-serving organization founded by a coach at Pennsylvania State University highlight the confusion that often surrounds state "mandated reporter" laws. These laws require certain professionals to report instances of...
In California’s Fresno County, teens who need a safe place to go have 263 options. The county participates in the Safe Place program, a national initiative that gives youth ages 11 to 17 somewhere to get help when they can’t go home. Local businesses, schools, libraries, fire stations, busses and other locations open their doors and connect young people to the nearest shelter and other social services.
In honor of National Safe Place Week, March 18-24, NCFY spoke with Joe Martinez, who coordinates Fresno’s program for the county’s Economic Opportunities Commission. We asked Martinez how he built one of the nation’s largest Safe Place networks from the ground up.
NCFY: Your network includes Walmart stores, convenience stores, the...
Increased Substance Use and Risky Sexual Behavior Among Migratory Homeless Youth: Exploring the Role of Social Network Composition, Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Vol. 40, No. 12.
What it’s about: Researchers interviewed 13- to 24-year-old homeless youth living in Los Angeles about their substance use and sexual behavior. The researchers looked at youth who travel from city to city and youth who stay in one place and compared their social networks, risky behavior and use of services.
Why read it: Some may idealize the life of so-called “travelers,” homeless youth who go from city to city and town to town, as care-free and independent. This is one of only a few studies that have examined the unique experience of homeless traveling youth and the risks they face.
Biggest takeaway for youth workers: This study...
Every ten seconds, child abuse is reported in the United States. Anonymous help for victims and their families can be found by calling Childhelp's National Child Abuse Hotline 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The hotline and its website offer crisis intervention, information, literature, and referrals to thousands of emergency, social service and support resources.
Counselors work with translators who speak over 140 languages. If you are being abused or know or suspect a child is being abused, call the hotline at 1-800-4-A-CHILD or text "childhelp" to 847411.
Additional...
"Housing experiences of former foster youth: How do they fare in comparison to other youth?" (abstract), Children and Youth Services Review, Vol. 33, No. 11, November 2011.
What it’s about: A number of studies have documented the fact that former foster youth often don't have a stable place to live. This article asks whether that housing insecurity is related to young people's history in foster care or to other risk factors, such as poverty, drug use and teen parenthood.
Why read it: When youth don't have stable housing, they can get sick, become depressed or develop emotional problems that make it difficult for them to function well as adults. Having safe, secure housing makes it easier for youth nearing adulthood to finish school or hold down a job. By understanding the reasons behind housing insecurity, youth-serving...
