Finally the bell rang and school was over.

Students gathered their materials and excitedly scampered into the hallways; sounds of laughing, loud talking, and lockers clanking echoed in the background. All of the students were eager to exit the building anticipating the long weekend; that is all but one, Jeremy. Jeremy relished the comfort of the school building. It was the only place in his life that provided safety, security and stability. You see, like thousands of today's teens, Jeremy was homeless. His weekend would consist of trying to find a place to stay that provided shelter, warmth and food. What the Data Says:

In the United States alone, there are estimates that approximately 3.5 million people are homeless and 1.35 million of them are children. Yes, that's over one-third of the homeless population! Homelessness effects teens in many different ways. Fifty percent of homeless teens age 16 and older, drop out of school. Many resort to using drugs which can lead to addictionas a means of coping. They lack food and clothing, need supplies, medical and dental treatment and the list goes on and on. These teens lack the major thing most human's desire - stability. Related Articles

How Teenagers Become Passionate About Giving Is your child stressed out? Why you may not know. Coping with Sexting Is Your Honor Student a Jewish Carpenter? Shemales, Bestiality, and Granny Porn: Mere Curiosity or Genuine Sexual Interest?

Find a Therapist
Search for a mental health professional near you.
City or Zip

Find Local:

Acupuncturists Chiropractors Massage Therapists Dentists and more!

City or Zip

With the state of America's economy and the jobless rate holding at about nine plus percent, teens are finding it increasingly more difficult to find a job. The jobs that teens once held are now being sought out by older and more qualified applicants who are without employment. And with the increasingly high foreclosure rates, so many kids have lost their homes and their families are forced to the streets. Many families are scampering to find a place to live, moving in with family members or sending their kids to other places to live as they search for a job. Many teens living on the streets are homeless because they ran away from home. According to the National Runaway Switchboard, "Every day between 1.3 and 2.8 million runaway and homeless youth live on the streets of America. One out of every seven children will run away from home before the age of 18." Approximately forty seven percent of these kids report conflict at home as the primary reason for leaving. Other reported reasons for running away include: School Problems, Substance Abuse, Abuse (physical, sexual, and verbal), Pregnancy, and Mental Health Problems. Regardless of the reason, we have entirely too many youth living on the streets of America. I watched the interviews this past week on the Homeless Man with a Golden Voice and the outpour of compassion from the American people was/is truly amazing. I thought, "What if we take that same compassion and give it to our homeless kids and their families?" There are many things that we can do to help out the homeless youth in our nation and each action does make a difference.

What We Can Do: Volunteer your time with a youth in need. Become a mentor with the school system or a community agency. Donate clothes to your local school for students in need or organize a clothing drive. Many schools have a clothes closet. So before you throw out that pair of pants you no longer wear think twice there may be someone that'd love to have them. Volunteer at a Soup Kitchen or Homeless Shelter. Form a committee in the community or schools arrange for a club to sponsor an event to get people actively involved in volunteering with these organizations. Churches and Community Agencies - Start an afterschool program for teens to have a place to go. Have a committee that works on finding placement for some of these families for a week or so.

 What we all can do - Show a little

Washington A new study by University of Illinois at Chicago has revealed that one-third of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth have attempted suicide in their lifetime a prevalence comparable to urban, minority youth but a majority do not experience mental illness The researchers recruited 246 ethnically diverse 16- to 20-year-old LGBT youth in Chicago and conducted structured psychiatric interviews to assess major depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, suicide attempts and conduct disorder. While a third of participants did meet criteria for at least one of the mental health disorders, about 70 percent of LGBT youth did not meet criteria for any mental disorders. One of the most important findings from our work is that most of these youth are doing very well and are not experiencing mental health problems, said Brian Mustanski, assistant professor of psychiatry at UIC and lead author of the study. Nearly 10 percent of study participants met criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and about 15 percent met criteria for major depression. A third had made a suicide attempt at some point in their life, and about 6 percent had made a suicide attempt in the last year. The researchers also looked at differences between sub-groups of LGBT youth to determine if bisexual youth tend to have more mental health problems than gay and lesbian youth, or if racial-minority youth experience more mental health problems than white youth. Contrary to previous research that suggested that bisexual youth are more likely to have mental disorders than other groups, Mustanski found just the opposite. Bisexual youths had a lower prevalence of mental disorders compared with others in the study. The study has been published online and in the December issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

In spite of the several gay pride parades that have taken place around India, many homosexuals are reluctant to disclose their sexual orientation for fear of being discriminated against by their peers. Even at the pride parades, many wear masks to conceal their identities. This is not too surprising in a country where it is not uncommon for some including Indias Health Minister to liken homosexuality to a disease. But there are signs institutions are taking steps to fight homophobia, too. To prevent discrimination and raise awareness about homosexuality among students, the Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai, best-known as IIT-Bombay, has started an on-campus support group called Saathi, Hindi for companion.

The support group is the first group to be set up for the LGBT community in an Indian educational institute. The group, which includes students, alumni and some members of the faculty, was first set up in July and held its orientation meeting with first-year students on Monday. This was part of a broader welcome program aimed at introducing new students to college life. All students admitted in the new academic year attended the program. Harishchandra Ramadas, a final year student at IIT-Bombay and one of the founding members of Saathi, on Thursday told India Real Time that the aim of the group is also to create positive noise and get the people to talk openly about homosexuality. We want to break the veil of silence that often accompanies topics of homosexuality, he said. Homosexuality is rarely talked about except in a mocking sort of a way. We want to change that. Gay rights activist Mohnish Malhotra saw this as a step in the right direction but noted there is still a long way to go. If you look abroad, there are LGBT societies in every college. Its important to have such a support group to safeguard the interest of the LGBT community. It is certainly a positive thing to do and we need lot more of such groups across India. Mr. Ramadas said that it was difficult to get a clear idea of how many students at IIT-Bombay fell under the LGBT category. He explained that most are not open about their sexual orientation, adding that many are in denial and often feel lonely, ashamed and even suffer from depression. He said statistics suggest that between 4-10% of the population is gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. On the basis of this estimate, he calculated that of IIT-Bombays roughly 7000 students, around 700 are likely to fall under this category. It is to them that Saathi wants to reach out to. In the true sense of the word, we want to be a companion to the LGBT community on campus, he said, explaining Saathi plans to reach out to such students through a one-to-one mentorship system as well as group initiatives. There is also a professional counselor working with Saathi. The group, which is still in its nascent stages, is now starting to reach out to students through an online portal. But only few members of the institutions faculty have openly supported the initiative. We did not connect with the entire teaching staff. We noticed that people dont like to openly take positions on the issue, Mr. Ramadas said, adding, however, that none of the professors have explicitly criticized their campus initiative. An IIT-Bombay spokesperson praised the grass-roots initiative: LGBTQ is a community that we as a society and country have been ignorant and indifferent to for far too long. Saathi a support group for this community of IIT Bombay is a fine example of a legacy of change and freedom in the mindsets.

The campus and institute community has come together and shown a lot of solidarity and compassion for this initiative.