Help is available for teens and youth facing homelessness
Many organizations throughout the U.S. offer programs and services to aid homeless youth. Following are ones that are available for teens and youth in and near Philadelphia, PA.
Unaccompanied homeless youth represent 7% of the total homeless population in the United States On a single night in 2015, there were approximately 36,907 unaccompanied homeless youth throughout all of the United States.
- 87% or 32,240 individuals were youth between the ages of 18 and 24.
- 13% or 4,667 individuals were children under the age of 18.
(Stats from HUD report data compiled in 2015)
Help from 1-800-RUNAWAY
The National Runaway Safeline (NRS) offers a crisis hotline and online services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to youth at risk of running away, those who have run away or are homeless, and their families.
NRS helps in the following ways:
Crisis Intervention: Front line staff and volunteers are trained to use a solution-based crisis intervention model.
Information and Referrals: NRS locates local resources and makes appropriate referrals to meet each caller’s needs.
Three-Way Conference Calls: NRS initiates calls between youth and their parents or guardians, staying on the line to mediate the discussion. NRS also initiates calls between youth and social service protection agencies, and between adults and organizations that can help resolve their problems.
Message Relay: When youth and their parents or guardians are not yet ready for one-on-one interactions, they may take the first step toward reconnecting with each other by leaving messages with NRS.
Free Trip Home: NRS has a partnership with Greyhound Bus Lines to be able to offer runaway and homeless youth a free bus ticket home.
Advocacy: The NRS front line team advocates for youth and ensures they get support and guidance from authorities, school administrators, social service agencies, and medical and legal professionals.
CALL: 1-800-RUNAWAY
CLICK: 1800RUNAWAY.org
TEXT: 66008
Covenant House of PA
Covenant House Pennsylvania is the Philadelphia region’s largest provider of services for homeless young people.
Emergency housing in Philadelphia
Youth Emergency Shelter – Helps runaway and homeless adolescents in need of immediate shelter and care. Call 215-787-0633.
Other shelters: https://www.covenanthousepa.org/for-our-youth/resources
Hotlines for help in Philadelphia
These people are here to help with many issues facing homeless teens and youth in the Philadelphia area.
Philadelphia Domestic Violence Hotline: 866-723-3014
Homeless Advocacy Project: 800-837-2672
Human Trafficking Hotline: 888-3737-888
National Hunger Hotline: 866-348-6479
Project Home Outreach: 877-222-1984
Philabundance Hotline: 800-319-3663
Mobile Crisis Team: 215-685-6440
Suicide Hotline: 215-686-4420
Good Saint Anne 