Homeless youth with intellectual disabilities: Precarious lives and health inequalities

Background

Youth with intellectual disabilities experiencing homelessness are invisible within multiple service sectors. We know little about their experiences of homelessness, or the impacts of such on the social and physical health and well-being.

Methods

We used quantitative and qualitative methods to measure prevalence and learn from key informants and homeless youth with intellectual disabilities about factors leading to and sustaining homelessness, and the implications of such on their social, physical, and mental health and well-being. The project involved seven co-researchers with intellectual disabilities and experience of youth homelessness in research design, data collection, analysis, and dissemination. We created Forum Theatre scenes that creatively represent the findings of the project. In this paper we share one of those scenes, as well as the recommendations three co-researchers with intellectual disabilities have for improving support to homeless youth with intellectual disabilities.

Findings

Lack of awareness of and about homeless youth with intellectual disabilities, combined with siloed ways of working by involved sectors, results in significant disadvantage and health inequities for youth. Also revealed was the likelihood this would continue given existing obstacles to accessing appropriate housing and supports to exit homelessness.

Conclusion

Services providers, policy makers and representatives of the involved sectors need to recognize and acknowledge homeless youth with intellectual disabilities and take responsibility for learning and working together to develop integrated and responsive approaches to effectively supporting them.