It’s not always easy to identify youth on the streets through typical counts of unsheltered people experiencing homelessness. Homeless youth are less likely to spend time in the same places as homeless people who are in an older age range. They are  often less willing to disclose that they’re experiencing homelessness or may not even identify as homeless. They also may work harder to try to blend in with peers who aren’t homeless. For the first time in 2013, the Department of Housing and Urban Development called for communities to conduct a youth-inclusive count that would include unaccompanied homeless youth, up to 24-years-old. That year in January, 46,924 unaccompanied homeless children and youth were counted. Given the difficulty of counting homeless youth, that estimate is likely an undercount. The Alliance estimates that during a year there are approximately 550,000 unaccompanied, single youth and young adults up to age 24 who experience a homelessness episode of longer than one week. Approximately 380,000 of those youth are under the age of 18.  While these are rough estimate made using imperfect information, it is a good starting point from which communities and the federal government can begin to scale resources and interventions.  We have a change in time for our show only for this Friday night Aug 22nd to 9:30pm CT so I could have my special guest speaker, the beautiful young lady who is lately being called "Miss Tennessee Teen USA ~ Alexis Mihalinec who will be addressing the topic of homelessness with me. Join us as we discuss the staggering statistics of our young ones that roam the streets. Tune in at www.blogtalkradio.com/ritahodges and/or call live only to 646-929-0421. My audience is what makes my show. See you there!!! Ciao bella...