Outreach and service linkage
are key for engaging marginalized populations, such as homeless youth, in
services. Research to date has focused primarily on engaging individuals
already receiving some services through emergency shelters, clinics, or other
programs. Less is known about those who are not connected to services and,
thus, likely the most vulnerable and in need of assistance.
The current study
sought to engage non-service-connected homeless youth (N = 79) into a
strengths-based outreach and advocacy intervention. Youth were randomly
assigned to receive 6 months of advocacy that focused on linking youth to
a drop-in center (n = 40) or to a crisis shelter (n = 39). All youth were
assessed at baseline and 3, 6, and 9 months post-baseline.
Findings
indicated that youth prefer drop-in center services to the shelter. Also, the
drop-in center linkage condition was associated with more service linkage
overall and better alcohol and HIV-related outcomes compared to the shelter linkage
condition.
Findings highlight the importance of outreach and service linkage
for reconnecting service-marginalized youth, and drop-in centers as a primary
service option for homeless youth.
Purchase full article at: http://goo.gl/Bwhphk
By:
- 1Department of Human Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA. slesnick.5@osu.edu.
- 2Department of Human Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
- 3Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.
- 4College of Social Work, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
- 5College of Public Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
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