• Homeless young people are divided equally between males and females.homeless image by Radu Razvan from Fotolia.com
  
  A person under the age of 18 who does not have family support, and does not live in a foster home or in an institution, is considered homeless. According to the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, approximately 1,682,900 young people were homeless in 2002. Most of the homeless young people range in ages from 15 to 17. The National Alliance to End Homelessness states that five to seven percent of youths in America will become homeless every year.
  
  

Family Issues

• The greatest number of young people become homeless due to family issues. The spectrum of problems range from neglect and strained relationships to addiction of a family member and sexual or physical abuse. According to a 1995 report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, more than half of young people staying at a shelter say that parents told them to leave or knew that the youth intended to leave. In another 1997 study, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services shows that seventeen percent of young people participated in unwanted sexual contact and that forty-six percent were physically abused.
  
  

Family Financial Issues

• Some families face economic issues such as low-paying jobs, lack of a job and possibly no medical or social programs. The family may attempt to stay together, but lack of housing may force the family to separate. As the family goes through transitions, many young people become homeless even when the family unit attempts to stay together.
  
  

Social Services

• Young people placed in foster homes may become homeless at an earlier age and for extended periods of time, according to a report by Roman and Wolfe in 1995. Other young people become homeless when released from institutions or residential facilities. Often the young person has outgrown foster care but cannot find appropriate housing upon release. The National Association of Social Workers reported in 1992 that one of every five youths who go to a shelter come directly from foster care.
  
  

Economic Issues

• As the United States faces economic problems, the number of homeless youths increases, according to The Register Guard (an Oregon newspaper). Three of every one hundred students in Oregon is considered homeless as of September, 2010. Homelessness has increased by 134 percent in seven years, since the districts started keeping records on homeless students.