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No services for homeless teens here

Task force forming to address problem

A screening of a film about homeless teens in Chicago on Tuesday led to a discussion of homeless young people in La Plata County.

About 60 people attended the Community Cinema airing of “The Homestretch,” about three homeless teenagers in Chicago and how they are trying to build lives for themselves, at the Durango Public Library.

“The truth is, they could have filmed this in Durango,” said Jennifer Turner, a youth advocate for La Plata Youth Services. “I’ve heard more than these three stories at La Plata Youth Services. There’s even a term for it, unaccompanied youth who are homeless.”

The problem is difficult to assess, she said, because it’s invisible, and people are good at concealing it.

“These are not kids who just ran away from home,” Turner said. “There was really something to run from. Forty to 60 percent experienced physical abuse, and 17 to 35 percent experienced sexual abuse.”

Turner said that generally, her first contact with homeless young people is when they’re referred to her for truancy, because homeless kids are often disconnected from school.

Lou Kiene, board president of Manna Soup Kitchen, spoke about the wide variety of people they see at the soup kitchen, including many families with children and teenagers and young adults.

There are no real services for unaccompanied youth who are homeless in La Plata County, Turner said. The Durango Community Shelter requires them to have an adult or guardian with them. We used to have a homeless shelter for teenagers in Durango, but it closed because of funding.

Turner and Bliss Bruen are hoping to form a task force to look into the situation. They are looking for members, and would like to have people who are involved in any agencies or organizations who might be able to help with a piece of the puzzle as well as anyone who’s interested.

abutler@durangoherald.com

To volunteer

To learn more about the task force forming to work on providing services to homeless young people, call Jennifer Turner at 385-4440, ext. 20; or Bliss Bruen at 259-1674.



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