Homeless youth with intellectual disabilities: Precarious lives and health inequalities

Abstract

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.

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.

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.

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.