The Unique Needs of Homeless Youths With Mental Illness: Baseline Findings From a Housing First Trial
Open accessAbstract
OBJECTIVE: Although youth homelessness presents a significant public health problem, the needs of homeless youths with mental illness, as distinct from adults, are not well understood. This study examined the unique demographic, clinical, and service use characteristics of homeless youths. METHODS: At Home/Chez Soi was a large randomized controlled trial of the Housing First model in five cities in Canada. Of 2,255 participants, 7% (N=164) were youths ages 18 to 24. Youths were compared with older participants on baseline demographic, clinical, and service use characteristics. RESULTS: More youths than adults had not finished high school (76% versus 54%), had a drug use disorder (66% versus 52%), and had been assaulted in the past six months (44% versus 36%) (all p<.05). Fewer than half the youths (49%) had a regular medical doctor, 50% reported unmet need for health care, and 61% visited an emergency department in the past six months. CONCLUSIONS: This sample of homeless youths with mental illness had low education, high rates of substance use disorders and victimization, and problems accessing services. These findings suggest that youths have trajectories to homelessness and service needs that are distinct from adults and may guide future planning for this vulnerable population.
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In Kozloff et al (2016), 1475 of 2255 participants (65.4%) had a TBI.
“1475/2255 (65·4%)”
From Traumatic brain injury in homeless and marginally housed individuals: a systematic review and meta-analysis (2020) · cites this paper as Kozloff et al (2016) 41
In Kozloff et al (2016), 730 of 2255 participants (32.4%) had a TBI.
“730/2255 (32·4%)”
From Traumatic brain injury in homeless and marginally housed individuals: a systematic review and meta-analysis (2020) · cites this paper as Kozloff et al (2016) 41
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“These studies have found that unmet needs were associated with being female (Kozloff et al., 2016; Reid & Palamar, 2022), being younger (Walker et al., 2015 ), being unemployed (Gomez-Sanchez-Lafuente et al., 2021), having low self-esteem (Armoon et al., 2024a), experiencing housing instability…”
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- Authors
- Kozloff, N., Stergiopoulos, V., Adair, C. E., Cheung, A. H., Misir, V., Townley, G., Bourque, J., Krausz, M., & Goering, P.
- Affiliations
- Portland State University (US)
- ORCID
- Venue
- Psychiatric Services
- Published
- 2016-10-01
- Volume
- 67
- Issue
- 10
- Pages
- 1083-1090
- ISSN
- 0022-1597 (ISSN-L)
- 1075-2730
- 1557-9700
- OpenAlex
- W2412837882
- Cited by
- 36
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 1
- FWCI
- 6.84
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Psychiatric Services (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PDXScholar (Portland State University) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Mental Health Commission
- University of Toronto
- Health Canada
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Homelessness and Social Issues
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Youth Education and Societal Dynamics
- Social Sciences › Urban Studies › Urban and Rural Development Challenges
- Keywords
- youth homelessness, mental illness, Housing First, substance use disorders, educational attainment, unmet health needs, emergency department utilization, access to services, transition from adolescence to adulthood
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Mental Disorders, Canada, Female, Humans, Male, Public Housing, Homeless Youth, Needs Assessment, Young Adult
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