Homeless teens consider smart phone as important as food

http://pressroom.usc.edu/homeless-teens-consider-smart-phone-as-important-as-food/

Study finds 62 percent have cell phones; potential to use technology to reduce homelessness, professor says

For teens without a home, paying the monthly subscription to a data plan for their smart phone is just as important as eating or a drug habit, according to Eric Rice of the USC School of Social Work, whose study was published in the December issue of the Journal of Urban Health.

Rice sees potential in using existing technology to extend the safety net for homeless youth. Social media and cell phones are tools rarely used today, in part because it was not known if, or how many, children without a home or a job could access the internet.

“Homeless youth are not hopeless cases,” said Rice, the lead author on the study. “They don’t have to be lost.”

Homeless youth are different from many homeless adults in that the teens have fewer mental and substance abuse problems that may be hurdles to getting off the streets and returning to a more stable environment, Rice said. Staying in touch provides more opportunities to find a stable home.

“Cell phones have changed what it means to be a homeless teen as these youth can look for help beyond the streets,” Rice said. “If you don’t have to steal to get a meal, the chances of you going to jail decrease.”

The study, “Cell Phone Use Among Homeless Youth: Potential for New Health Interventions and Research” found:
   • 62 percent of homeless youth own a cell phone.
   • 51 percent use cell phones stay connected to friends from home and 41 percent connect to their parents.
   • 36 percent use the phone to call current or potential employers.

This study is Rice’s fourth in an ongoing look at teen homelessness. He earlier found that 85 percent find a way online, either though the phone, libraries or youth agencies.

Similar studies on a smaller scale have replicated the findings in Denver and New York.

Alex Lee and Sean Taitt of USC were co-authors on the study.

The National Institute of Mental Health provided funding for this study.

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Contact: Eddie North-Hager at (213) 740-9335 or edwardnh@usc.edu.

Almost homeless, 74-year-old vet benefits from outreach

By Keith Morelli | Tribune Staff 
Published: December 21, 2013   |   Updated: December 21, 2013 at 11:59 PM

TAMPA — Daniel Byrne was in a bad way earlier this month. He was living on $600 a month from his part-time job at a car wash, staying in a dilapidated house without heat.

At 74, he was on the verge of homelessness.

His situation has improved dramatically, thanks to the Homeless Veterans Outreach at the James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital in Tampa, and a Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office deputy who took a personal interest in helping out a U.S. Army veteran.

Byrne's home was drafty and dirty, and the circuit breaker would blow when he turned on the heat. He lived on the modest salary that comes with a part-time job at a car wash on Dale Mabry Highway, where he had worked since the 1980s, he said.

He has lived in Tampa for 40 years and gets around town on buses.

“The guy worked his heart out; he wasn't even aware of Social Security,” said Bruce Roberts, a social worker with Homeless Veterans Outreach. “He's 74 and he's still working at a car wash. I told him, 'You need to apply for Social Security. You're of age. It should have kicked in at 62.' ”

“I wasn't too familiar with all that,” Byrne said.

Roberts arranged for a ride for Byrne to the Social Security Administration building earlier this month.

“Come to find out, he's eligible and he even qualified for six months of back pay,” Roberts said. “Now, he's getting $1,400 a month and a new place to live. Someone donated furniture, too.”

Hillsborough County sheriff's Deputy Stephanie Krager, who has helped Byrne for the past three weeks, has forged a friendship with the veteran and gave him a lift to the veterans hospital Thursday because he wasn't feeling well and didn't show up for work, a rarity.

Among the obstacles that were overcome this month:

“Social Security would only pay Daniel if he had a bank account,” she said. He had never had a bank account. She took him to a local bank, which helped him open an account where he could deposit the Social Security checks.

An accountant who works with homeless veterans has volunteered to oversee Byrne's account, do shopping for him and take care of his financial needs, Krager said.

Last week, Krager helped Byrne move into his new apartment at Rocky Creek Village.

When he's not working, he sleeps, does laundry and shops for groceries, he said. He doesn't know if he still has family in his home state of Wisconsin, but now he might just begin to look, he said.

His plans for the future?

“I'll probably go back to work,” he said. “I feel great.”

kmorelli@tampatrib.com

(813) 259-7760

Deputy Steven Donaldson
Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office
Homeless Initiative
District III Office: (813) 247-033
Email: sdonalds@hcso.tamp.fl.us
Facebook.com/HelpCopsHelpUs 

HelpCopsHelpUs.org

Homeless youth in Hillsborough County: Do we understand the problem?

If you saw a homeless youth walking the streets of Hillsborough County what would be the peculiar characteristics that led you to believe your assumption of homelessness was accurate? Typically we associate homelessness with tattered clothing, overgrown facial hair and overt exhibitions of panhandling and consumption of high octane lager. Is this what you saw in the presumed homeless youth?

Homeless youth are generally classified as young adults and adolescents between the ages of 13 and 24 and bear hidden behavioral traits that likely make them more elusive when compared to the anticipated images of the greater homeless sub-population. Adding to the problem of self-identification there is limited research and data within this specialized field of homelessness making it difficult to properly understand their true behavioral traits or capture accurate census data.

The severity and relevance of almost every social problem that contributes to blight and despair in our communities is often a perception measured by what we can see and what we talk about. 

And, to answer the introductory question regarding the peculiar characteristics that led you to identify the homeless youth -- there is no legitimate answer. 

How can I explain this?

Since the homeless youth conversation on the national, regional and even local level simply hasn't spilled over reaching a critical mass of awareness -- piercing the social boundary of public sentiment -- the problem doesn't exist in the conscious minds of the average consumer. And, without a conscious mind outraged at the despair of homeless youth living on the streets of our city it's highly unlikely anyone of us could identify their personal behavioral characteristics -- peculiar or otherwise.

In the weeks and months that will follow the Homeless Youth Task Force will begin to tackle some of these inherent problems in locating, identifying and rehabilitating homeless youth from the streets of our communities. It's an effort with little historical precedent and many unforeseen challenges.

However, the mustard seed of a beginning strategy leads us to believe that even homeless youth maintain their youthful social networks. And, it's these youthful networks that very likely could be the intermediary and informational conduit connecting an isolated homeless youth in need with the right people who are prepared to help.

I'm interested in your input and insight on the topic of locating, identifying and assisting homeless youth. Feel free to connect with me at facebook.com/deputystevendonaldson

Deputy Steven Donaldson
Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office
Homeless Initiative
District III Office: (813) 247-033
Email: sdonalds@hcso.tamp.fl.us
Facebook.com/HelpCopsHelpUs 

HelpCopsHelpUs.org

    

What's the latest with the Homeless Initiative?

 You may have noticed we have been a little quiet with social media lately and we hope the absence has made the heart grow fonder. But, the Homeless Initiative and the District III Sheriff's Office have been busier then ever behind the scenes to bolster our street engagement homeless recovery efforts.

I'm proud to announce and introduce Deputy Stephanie Krager who has become my collaborative partner both behind the scenes and on the streets of our community.

Deputy Krager has been the Crisis Intervention Coordinator for the Sheriff's Office and she has held this title for more than eight years now. Deputy Krager brings a learned skill to the table with addressing the mental health component that overlaps with homeless recovery.  As of April 1st we have comingled our specialized skills to provide a more complete and thorough assessment when evaluating the individual complications that sometimes hinder recovery from homelessness. For the past eight years she has established relationships with the mental health community and patiently navigated a more streamlined approach that allows those in need of mental health intervention to be able to connect to services.

We have been working together on the streets in your communities addressing some of the most lingering concerns with both homeless plight and mental health issues. Deputy Krager and myself don't have an office and that's how we like it -- problems that exist on the street have to be solved on the street. Recently, we met up with five homeless candidate's at a McDonald's restaurant within Town N' Country to put into action their exit strategy that will soon get them on the road to recovery. It's these types of images that tell the story of the work we perform to help make our community a better place to live and help people resolve personal problems they may not otherwise know how to solve on their own. 

More recently we have blurred the organizational lines amongst agencies within Hillsborough County that traditional don't work together. The Homeless Initiative and Tampa Police Homeless Liaison now sit together at the table with the Public Defender's Office to help identify high profile cases of homelessness.

Did you know that one homeless man in Hillsborough County has been arrested a startling 87 times? It's an example of the revolving door of justice that never gets slammed shut. Working closely with Marie Marino and Lorenzo Anderson with the Public Defenders Office we now flag these persistent cases of homelessness; and, when the outcome is incarceration -- the Homeless Initiative intervenes with the cooperation of the judicial system to coordinate an exit strategy from the point of incarceration to transitional living off the streets.

 

 Navigating the institutional homeless recovery system when your in a state of despair can be overwhelming for the average homeless client. Our approach has become more comprehensive and systematic. From the first contact on the street to the final conclusion of recovery we follow each client through the maze of government assistance. Having hands-on experience with social service programs our clients aren't left to their own fate. It has become a one-on-one relationship that attempts to break their isolation, build their self esteem, and sometimes kick them in the pants when they need a little more encouragement.

Our next Homes of Second Chances project is waiting on the side line and if we can pull it off I believe it will be an impressive accomplishment as this unique, even unorthodox, rehousing model gains steam. We have met with a number of agencies within the county to find the right audience to support the fundamental strategy for self sustainable rehousing. Although the outcome always remains in limbo when you think out of the box our next residential project is essentially a residential compound comprising three main houses with 12 individual units and almost 10,000 square feet of living space.

So, as you can see we have been busy both behind the scenes and on the streets and without  your support we wouldn't be able to do it on our own. It takes an entire community to solve some of these most enduring problems that tear at the fabric of our society.

Thanks for being patient with the updates and we look forward to sharing more of the continued successes with the Homeless Initiative very soon.

 

Deputy Steven Donaldson
Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office
Homeless Initiative
District III Office: (813) 247-0330
Email: sdonalds@hcso.tamp.fl.us
Facebook.com/HelpCopsHelpUs 

HelpCopsHelpUs.org