Barriers and Facilitators to Use of Shelter Services Among Homeless Youth

Purpose: Despite concerns regarding a low rate of shelter utilization among homeless youth relative to the size of their estimated needs (Levin et al, 2005), few studies have examined factors associated with shelter utilization among homeless youth (Pergamit, et al., 2010).  Moreover, existing studies used limited samples (e.g., age, composition, recruitment sites) and broad definitions of services, providing few implications to improve shelter service utilization. To fill the knowledge gap, this study uses data from both sheltered and unsheltered youth to examine perceived barriers and facilitators to shelter use.

Methods: Youth were recruited from emergency shelters, drop-in centers, and street outreach to participate in focus groups of homeless youth ages 14-24 (n=64).  Thirteen groups were conducted using an interview guide that asked about experiences of homelessness and use of supportive services.  A team of qualitative researchers used a grounded theory approach to develop a codebook based on preliminary discussion of themes, then met to iteratively refine a final set of codes. Researchers discussed emerging themes and subthemes identified to generate final results.

Results: The sample includes 47% male, 75% Black, 25% pregnant/parenting teens, 20% LGBT, 23% minor, and 48% youth in /aged out of foster care. Barriers identified clustered into three areas: attitudinal barriers, access barriers, and structural barriers.  Attitudinal barriers included pride and self-reliance [“I don’t want nobody’s help, I’m going to do me by myself”] as well as stigma and shame [“I never let nobody who saw me know that I was homeless”].  Access barriers included availability and location of services [“there isn’t a lot of resources for homeless youth….”], transportation [“transportation was a huge issue”], and acceptability of services.  Acceptability included perception that services were youth-friendly and that the shelter was a decent place.  Youth commented on the negative reputation of shelters [“A lot of people would tell you (shelter name) is filthy bad”].  Structural barriers included shelter rules such as curfews and no cell-phone use. Youth also talked about age restrictions (i.e. being 17 or over 21) and lack of capacity at youth-focused shelters. Facilitators to shelter use included supportive others such as school counselors and church members [“when you go to church, people help you”].  Police officers and psychiatric services also facilitated entry to shelter care.  Youth perceived that some factors eased access to services, including mental illness [“… in the same situation, they’ll help the crazy person first”], being a woman [“a woman will always get care quicker than a man”] and pregnancy [“if you’re not pregnant it’s going to take you a long time to get on housing.  And now I’m pregnant; nothing could stop me.”]. 

Implications: Findings of this study highlight the need for outreach efforts that recognize youth’s desire for self-reliance and frame shelter services as supporting rather than restricting independence.  In addition, there is a need to develop more resources specifically tailored to the late adolescent and young adult population that are both accessible and perceived by youth as supportive and acceptable.