title: How to open and sustain a drop-in center for homeless youth.
abstract: Drop-in centers have the potential to facilitate engagement of homeless youth into treatment and back into the mainstream. However, little guidance was found in the literature regarding how to open and sustain a drop-in center for homeless youth. This paper offers such guidance, including information that may be useful for developing a change philosophy that guides the center structure, and for identifying a building and location conducive to facilitate activities and access for the youth. Guidance for structuring the drop-in center and for hiring and training staff is also offered. Since the U.S. suffers from a dearth of services for homeless youth, the direction offered in this paper may help guide those who seek to provide services to these vulnerable and underserved youth.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Development and Family Science, The Ohio State University, 1787 Neil Ave, 135 Campbell Hall, Columbus, OH 43210, United States.
authors.forename: Natasha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Slesnick
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Glassman
authors.forename: Rikki
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Garren
authors.forename: Paula
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Toviessi
authors.forename: Denitza
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bantchevska
authors.forename: Pushpanjali
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dashora