Every year, more than 4 million young people experience homelessness in the United States. And while youth homelessness is a largely hidden problem, it impacts a staggering number of young people in every city, town, and suburb in this country.

LGBT youth had a 120 percent higher risk of experiencing homelessness than youth who identified as heterosexual and cisgender. Hispanic youth and black youth are more likely to experience homelessness than their white peers by 33 percent and 83 percent, respectively.

New research from Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago details the extent of the issue, and it should serve as a wake-up call for all of us: Homelessness is threatening to derail a generation of young people.

The research details the magnitude of the problem: Of the 25,000 surveyed, one in 10 young adults between the ages of 18 and 25, and at least one in 30 adolescents between the age of 13 and 17, experience some form of homelessness over the course of a year. The research provides compelling evidence that youth homelessness is a pervasive issue, one that affects young people in the biggest cities and the smallest towns; one that every young person experiences differently but for one thing in common — the lack of a safe place to call home.

Read the full article on youth homelessness by Tricia Raikes at Youth Today