Targeted Interventions: Meeting the Needs of Unaccompanied Homeless Youth
MA Appleseed hosted its second annual conference on November 15, 2012. A diverse audience of policy advocates, legislators, state agencies, service providers, and educators attended. The keynote speaker, Christina Murphy, Director of Policy for the National Center on Family Homelessness, spoke on youth homelessness, provided national statistics, and spoke to the urgent needs of homeless youth. Edwin Darden, Director of Education Law and Policy at national Appleseed, presented a synopsis of the findings of recent our policy brief on unaccompanied homeless youth. The conference included a panel discussion addressing the unique vulnerabilities related to education, health, housing, and social justice. The breakout sessions covered topics ranging from appropriate methodologies to count this highly mobile yet invisible population to the importance of wraparound services. The conference created an excellent platform to discuss areas ripe for positive change and potential advocacy strategies to create meaningful improvement in the lives of these children.
Conference Materials
Conference Agenda
Invisible Faces on Facebook
Report from the National Center on Family Homelessness: America’s Youngest Outcasts
MA Appleseed Policy Brief: Unaccompanied, Unidentified, and Uncounted: Developing Strategies to Meet the Needs of America’s Homeless Youth
Presentation from breakout session #1: Creating a Comprehensive Definition of Unaccompanied Homeless Youth
Presentation and supplemental materials from breakout session #2: Identifying Unaccompanied Homeless Youth: Deriving Data from an Accurate Count
Download supplemental materials
Presentation from breakout session #4: Comprehensive Programs and the Importance of a Wrap-Around Approach
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