I Pour Life Staff Join Youth Homelessness Simulation
Six I Pour Life staff members attended an eye-opening simulation for youth facing homelessness recently. Our staff received character profiles that described each youth’s age and background information, including their living situation, economic status, and level of schooling. The staff’s goal was to fulfill immediate needs like housing, family legal assistance, and securing food by connecting with “agencies.”
Concerning Challenges
As our team reflected on the experience, they were troubled by the lack of resources available to youth in our community, often resulting in longer wait times for basic needs like housing and food.
“I’m not a person who gets ‘stressed out’ very easily, but I found myself almost in a panic trying to get resources that were not available to me due to the age I was given for the simulation,” I Pour Life Program Director, Jeff Bryant, says. “For most services, you have to be as close to 18 as possible, and if you are not, you’re out of luck.”
LifeStrengths Manager Kayla shares, “I was surprised by how overwhelming it can be for youth to navigate the system, even when they’re trying their best to get help. The constant back and forth between agencies, the long wait times, waitlists due to funding constraints, and the eligibility requirements all create a system that feels nearly impossible to navigate, especially when you’re doing it alone, young, and under pressure.”
“In many cases, youth do everything they can to survive situations forced upon them in systems that were not designed for them,” Lynch says. “The absence of a supportive adult makes every part of life more difficult.”
Barriers Keeping Youth from Resources
“One significant barrier unhoused youth encounter is the lack of an engaged legal guardian,” Lynch says. “I was given a 14-year-old profile and was shocked by the barriers I faced primarily due to my profile’s age. Without an active parent or guardian, many youth are unable to access basic services, like healthcare, housing, or education services, because they don’t meet the legal requirements for consent. This forces unhoused youth into a dilemma. They need services to stabilize their lives, but they can’t get those services without adult intervention or documentation they often don’t have.
“On top of that, they face judgment, lack of transportation, limited access to mental health care, and sometimes fear of being placed in unsafe or unstable living situations. All of these barriers stack up and make it incredibly hard for youth to focus on long-term goals like school, employment, financial stability, or stable housing.”
Agencies often had limited openings and created bottlenecks for youth seeking help. “This was not ideal if you had to go to three other places first just to get what you actually needed,” Bryant notes.
What Youth Would Want You to Know
“Many of the youth we serve have been dealt a bad hand to start, and when they keep hearing ‘no,’ it seems there’s no point in trying,” Bryant says. “Most of the ‘acting out’ that comes from our youth is their way of ‘playing the system’ to get the services that they need.”
Similarly, Lynch says, “Homeless and at-risk youth are not ‘troubled’ or ‘irresponsible’ … These youth need compassion, flexibility in service provision, and advocates who can help them navigate the complex systems they’re forced to deal with. If we truly want to support them, we must start by listening to their stories, reducing judgment, and adapting our services to meet them where they are.”
At I Pour Life, our team steps up to provide support to older, at-risk youth, many of whom face homelessness. Our LifeStrengths and Social Capital Club programs fill critical gaps, helping youth from diverse backgrounds transition successfully into adulthood. If you’d like to learn more about our programs, visit ipourlife.org/approach.