Youth Homelessness

Adolescents experiencing homelessness report mental health issues, including suicidality, depressive symptoms, and substance use disorders at rates significantly higher than their stably housed peers. However, evidence of prevention strategies for this growing population is limited.

This mixed methods project will
(1) test the hypothesis that theoretically driven contextual factors are related to reduced suicidality, depression, and substance use among adolescents experiencing homelessness;
(2) identify how these factors are perceived to affect mental health
(3) develop policy and practice recommendations describing how supports in school and neighborhood contexts can be leveraged to prevent mental health problems among adolescents experiencing homelessness.

Community Partner: San Diego Youth Services 
Co-Investigator: Dr. Jennifer Felner, SDSU School of Public Health.
Funding: This project is generously funded by a pilot project award from the NIH/NIHMD.
SDSU Health LINK for Health Disparities (parent grant; U54MD01239)
https://healthlink.sdsu.edu/