CoCo County Officials Respond To Report Of Not Keeping Up With Homeless Youth Needs
CONTRA COSTA (KCBS)— Contra Costa County officials responded Tuesday to a Civil Grand Jury report that underscored their lack of services for homeless youth.
The number one finding from the report is that there are an inadequate number of shelter beds in the county for homeless youth, and it doesn't appear likely that things will greatly improve in the future.
According to the report, the county operates three youth shelters with a total of 32 beds. Recent county figures from 2010 show there were more than 600 homeless youth with the majority in west Contra Costa.
County Administrator David Twa told county supervisors homelessness will always continue to be a problem.
"Whether it's youth coming out of the foster-care system, whether it's other youth who are homeless, or families who are homeless as well as veterans; we have a very comprehensive process in terms of dealing with those issues," Twa said.
Kia Croom of the Greater Interfaith Program in Richmond said her agency houses homeless youth and their families.
KCBS' Dave Padilla Reports:
"There are a number of programs that are doing the best they can to respond, but inevitably, where are these homeless youth going to go once they become stable? Where are they going to go and live so they can stay that way," she asked.
She said, without an adequate response to this problem, these young people are likely to return to homeless shelters as adults.
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