Social Justice News Nexus: Homeless youth, advocates ask Rauner to ‘put human lives before revenue’

By Mirkica Popovik

About 20,000 young people at risk of homelessness in Illinois may be on the streets without shelter and services this winter, as the state’s budget stalemate continues in Springfield, leaving crucial social services unfunded. Advocates warn that if these programs close, they may never open again.

Surrounded by big cardboard boxes symbolizing the future of homeless youth who rely on state-funded services, the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless and other supporters asked Governor Rauner to invest in and continue social services aimed at keeping youth off the streets. Photo by Mirkica Popovik.
Surrounded by big cardboard boxes symbolizing the future of homeless youth who rely on state-funded services, the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless and other supporters asked Governor Rauner to invest in and continue social services aimed at keeping youth off the streets. Photo by Mirkica Popovik.

“Some of these programs are staying open on the hope that they will be paid someday, now they are just borrowing money, spending down reserves, but this can’t continue, programs are going to start shutting down,” said Julie Dworkin, policy director at the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. “Once they shut down, even if funding is restored some of them might not be able to just reopen, which means that the infrastructure for helping the homeless will be lost.”

At a rally held at the Thompson Center Sept. 23, advocates argued that more than 77 percent of the organizations that provide services to homeless youth could experience program cuts or full elimination of their services as a result of the budget impasse, which started July 1. They asked Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner to end the stalemate.

Flora Koppel, a staffer at Unity Parenting and Counseling on the city’s near Southwest Side, said youth who lose access to services may “have to go back on the streets, or return to the abusive parent or partner.” She noted that many homeless youth also end up turning to prostitution in order to survive, a very real risk for any youth who lose services or shelter.

Koppel and Dworkin were just two of hundreds of service providers, homeless youth, advocates and legislators who came out against the budget impasse last week. The group stood around a box that read: “Don’t make homeless youth live in a dirty box.” The protesters urged Illinois legislators to put human lives and the future of young people ahead of collecting revenues.

State Representatives Greg Harris and Will Guzzardi, both Democrats representing Chicago, were at the rally. Harris said homelessness among youth is not a small problem. He cited statistics from a University of Illinois study that counted 21,000 homeless children in the state.

“It is just a struggle to live like this,” said Chris, a 22-year-old man living on the street. He said the only support he gets is through the state’s food stamp program, but that was cut off for him in July.

A survey by the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless showed that unsheltered youth are three times more likely to be forced into prostitution, and 28 percent of homeless youth trade sex for basic needs such as food or shelter. Photo by Mirkica Popovik.
A survey by the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless showed that unsheltered youth are three times more likely to be forced into prostitution, and 28 percent of homeless youth trade sex for basic needs such as food or shelter. Photo by Mirkica Popovik.

“Sometimes to be honest I have to steal the necessary things that I need, but I find it hard to get to a shower if I can’t get to a shelter. Sometimes I can’t get to the shelter because I don’t have any transportation. That in itself is just a difficult way to live. I’m hungry a lot because they are taking my Link card because there isn’t enough funding.”

The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless released a survey showing that since July 1, when the budget deadline passed without a budget:
* 36 percent of homeless youth providers have already reduced or eliminated services.
* 41 percent said they would be forced to make reductions if the situation continues.
* 64 percent of services are already spending down reserve funds to stay open.
* 67 percent said they have limited and will have to limit intake of new clients.

The coalition said that young people rely on key services such as transportation, which is being cut back. And further cuts would open a “Pandora’s box” of severe social problems for these youth, advocates said.

“The youth are not going to be able to have shelter, they’ll be faced with sleeping on the streets, there is a lot of danger and they are really open to sexual exploitation, victimization,” said Dworkin.

The coalition survey also found that when youth are unsheltered and living on the street, they are:
* Three times more likely to be forced into prostitution and twice as likely to be raped or assaulted.
* More likely to fall victim to sexual exploitation; 28 percent of youth living on the street trade sex for basic needs such as food or shelter.
* More likely to be victims of physical violence; 63 percent experienced violence while homeless
* They are not likely to have health care.

Koppel added that on top of the social cost, the financial cost to the state for taking care of unsheltered youth is much higher if they get into trouble.

Dworkin said the state would lose more money long-term by cutting social programs rather than sustaining them. For instance, Koppel stated that the annual state costs for an underage youth in the welfare system is $48,328. Taking care of them in a psychiatric hospital costs $127,000 a year, and incarcerating them in juvenile detention costs $111,000 annually.

Koppel’s program is still standing, but the math shows time is running out. In fact, the group may not be able to pay for such essentials as rent and salaries in November or December, Koppel said, which might lead to the closing of their facilities, leaving 56 of their clients on the street.

Calvin, a 22-year-old from St. Louis, has been homeless for six months and is staying at the Broadway Youth Center (BYC) in Lakeview. His parents forced him to leave the house after Calvin told them he was gay, he said.

“The BYC is also an afternoon drop-in center, they help with resources like helping you sign up for housing, for medical care,” Calvin said. “They are already struggling as it is, so any more cuts would be absolutely devastating. We wouldn’t know where to sign up for school or look for work anymore.”

Many of the homeless youth at the rally said the cuts are a sign that the state has given up on the most vulnerable groups.

“We will have to go back to sleeping on the buses, trains, railways, park benches, bus stops,” said 24-year-old Christopher, who said he was kicked out of his home and homeless for six months, residing in shelters on the South Side. “You don’t want that happening to this city full of tourists. You don’t want them to think the city is lazy, when it is not lazy, but has just given up on the people that need help the most.”

His dream is to use his talent as a dancer and a singer, but he is unable to because of his living condition. He is struggling to get a social security card and an ID. If programs that are now helping get people jobs, education and basic necessities like clean clothes shut down, he says, they will all be left lost and stuck.

The coalition said that young people rely on key services such as transportation, which is being cut back. And further cuts would open a “Pandora’s box” of severe social problems for these youth, advocates said.

Angela McClellan from the Coalition for the Homeless said giving up on youth is what makes young people hopeless, and once they lose hope they are often willing to do anything.

“They have to survive, they have to eat, that is when they go to the streets and do the things that they do,” she said. Because they have no hope, they have no goals for the future. “Half of them don’t think they are going to live past 18. Simple things like giving them new shoes, a pair of pants gives them hope,” she said. “And we wonder why they are out there killing each other on the street, because they are in a hopeless situation.”

Calvin suggests the state should consider making use of abandoned buildings for homeless shelters. “We have the space, more than enough space, but if it is not something that immediately makes our corporate leaders money, it is not of interest to them,” he said. “I feel like we have to stand up to them and show that human rights come before anything.”

“Reducing or ending these programs saves money short-term, but is extremely expensive long-term,” added Koppel. “These programs are documented to be successful, they help the youth find jobs, finish school, keep their families intact and become taxpayers.”

– Mirkica Popovik is a visiting journalism fellow at Community Media Workshop. She is in the U.S. for a four-month media fellowship as part of the Macedonian Media Leaders Program, sponsored by the U.S. State Department.