According to a study, young adults often fall through the mesh of the homeless aid network. “Many youth welfare offices no longer feel responsible for young adults,” says the study published in Munich on Tuesday by the Social Education Institute of the SOS Children’s Villages association. Homelessness is also an indication of the failure of upstream support structures.
For the qualitative study, the institute interviewed 14 professionals in institutions that help the homeless. In a second research phase, it created 15 case studies of young homeless people.
According to the study, psychological problems and a negative self-image of the homeless are the main reasons why help is not effective. The professionals stated that they often experienced that those affected excluded themselves and did not believe in their abilities. They are often so busy with themselves that they hardly have the capacity to deal with other things.
Inherited behavioral patterns are also problematic. Their families are often characterized by alcohol and debt, so that they are born into poverty careers and have no orientation on how to get a good start in life.
Nevertheless, homelessness among young people is not only an individual problem, but also a structural one. The contact points in the field of therapy and psychiatry, for example, are insufficient.
