A new survey from the California State Library’s California Research Bureau, Voices from the Street: A Survey of Homeless Youth by their Peers, is due online March 5. As part of the survey’s release, the California Research Bureau (CRB), in collaboration with New America Media, will hold a briefing from 12 noon to 2 pm on Wednesday, March 5 in Room 340 at 900 N Street in Sacramento.
At the briefing, survey author and journalist Nell Bernstein will present her findings about California’s homeless youth to representatives of the California Legislature and Departments of Mental Health, Social Services, Education, and Housing and Community Development. Joining Bernstein will be Sqoll Blaque, a youth researcher from Los Angeles who worked on the survey, and Erin Casey, director of My Friend’s Place, a program serving homeless youth in Los Angeles. A participant discussion will follow the presentation.
In Bernstein’s survey, homeless or formerly homeless youth researchers interviewed over 200 of their California peers to document not only life on the streets, but what California’s young homeless people think California lawmakers should do to help them. The survey reveals that most homeless youth have been kicked-out of their home or have left to escape violent or abusive parents or adult caregivers. In powerful first person narratives, the surveyed youth discuss surviving on the street, interacting with law enforcement, as well as their opinions on education, mental well-being, emotional support, and services they have been offered or used.
To review the report with lead-time, or to interview the author, please contact Ginny Puddefoot at 916-653-7653 or gpuddefoot@library.ca.gov.
To view the report online after March 5, please visit the California Research Bureau page at http://www.library.ca.gov/crb/CRBSearch.aspx.
To reserve a space and complimentary lunch for the briefing, please contact Ginny Puddefoot at 916-653-7653 or gpuddefoot@library.ca.gov.