b'The share of unaccompanied youth who intervention strategies to reduce theidentified as AI/AN or Indigenous was occurrence of unsheltered and runawayhighest in other largely urban CoCs (8%) youth in Native American and Alaska Nativeand largely rural CoCs (7%) and lowest communities. Unlike other systems youthwithin largely suburban CoCs (2%). interact with, such as the child welfare orNative youth are disproportionately juvenile justice systems, efforts to serverepresented in homeless shelters and youth experiencing homelessness are nottransitional living programs.provided through a single, coordinatedsystem of supports funded by a state orIt has been challenging to accurately assess federal agency. Moreover, the varied andhow many AI/AN youth are homeless due unique needs of youth, particularly Nativeto issues such as inadequate rural outreach, youth, who experience homelessnessgovernment agency mistrust, and varying require a range of culturally anddefinitions of homelessness in tribal community-based interventions andcommunities. Additionally, Native American solutions that no single funding stream canyouth experiencing homelessness may not provide. Collaboration among federal, state,fit the federal definition of homeless, which Tribal and local partners is a critical need tomay further prohibit them from accessing provide this full range of solutions. human services.Creating a path to halt the rise ofIn an effort to better understand the social unsheltered and runaway AI/AN youth willand economic disparities impacting the require innovation, expanded regional andhealth, wellness, and safety of Native youth national partnerships, dedicated resourcesand to provide pertinent resources to to Tribal Nations, Native American andOJJDP Tribal Youth Program and Juvenile Alaska Native communities, and aHealing to Wellness Court grantees, the deepened commitment by state andTribal Youth Resource Center created an federal agencies to work towardsOnline Learning Event (OLEs) series, transformation and re-orientation towardsProtecting Our Most Vulnerablejustice in the nations major systems servingUnsheltered and Runaway Native Youth: Native youth. The Tribal Youth ResourcePart I and Part II. The OLEs focused on the Center will continue to move forward toneeds and current service gaps of collect relevant data, identify resources &unsheltered and runaway Native youth culturally rooted services/programs, andacross the country, emphasizing how most importantly, engage Native youth tounsheltered and runaway Native youth are lend their voice and experiences to ourat higher risk of becoming a victim of sex communities to identify sustainabletrafficking and human trafficking or solutions to an issue our ancestors neverbecoming justice involved. The vision for could have imagined ~ unsheltered andthe series was to provide knowledge of the runaway youth. issue, impacts on Native communities, andincrease knowledge of prevention and Article by: Tribal Youth Resource Center Staff17'