Community members discussed the problem at a forum held Thursday.
By Samantha C. DePoy
Staff Writer
FARMINGTON

A struggling economy and layoffs in many manufacturing jobs around Franklin County are causing more teen homelessness, a local outreach worker said Thursday.

For the first time in recent history, community members gathered in an organized forum at Franklin Memorial Hospital to discuss teen homelessness, an issue that is often forgotten in rural areas. A three-person panel made up of people who deal with teens said it is an issue communities need to be aware of so they can develop solutions.

According to Ernest Gurney, outreach worker for New Beginnings in Farmington, from January through July of 2003, he served 40 teens struggling to find a safe place to live. New Beginnings assists adolescents who are in crisis due to unstable and/or conflict-ridden living situations. The goal is to grow socially and emotionally so they can build self-respect and lead productive lives.

Gurney, who is approached either by area school counselors or by individuals themselves, works to provide information and referrals to help teens find housing and food and resolve health issues, access to education and family conflicts.

Of the 40 youth he helped the first half of this year, 24 were at risk of becoming homeless due to an ongoing situation and 16 were considered homeless.

Seventeen of those teens were from the SAD 9 area, 13 from the Jay school district’s area, seven from the SAD 58 area, and three from other areas, mainly Rangeley.

Because the county is so rural though, it is not feasible for a homeless shelter because it would not be accessible by all youth in the county. The closest shelter is located in Lewiston, but that’s too far to go for help, Gurney said. “They will do anything before they do that.”

Panelist Kristin Plummer, a school-based advocated for Sexual Assault Victims Emergency Services based in Farmington, recently spoke with teens throughout the county about teen homelessness and what caused the problem and how to fix it.

Students, said Plummer, initially didn’t realize it was such a problem.

Among the reasons students cited for teens being homeless were substance abuse by either parents or teens, violence, miscommunication, economic issues and teens not following parents’ rules

As panelist Eric Gothberg, director of guidance for SAD 9 pointed out, youth need dependability, consistency, reliability and predictability. That’s something that doesn’t always happen, he said.

“It’s still very scary when you look at the breakdown of the American family and the consequences of that,” Gothberg said. “We’re not talking about spending the night in a cardboard box. We don’t have any students freezing to death, that’s for sure.

Gurney said he expects by the end of the year, he will have served 75 kids, and that’s a low guess. Homelessness in the area is increasing, he said, because teens are having a hard time becoming self-sufficient because the job market is tougher for them.

With many layoffs in the manufacturing industry around the county, those displaced workers are seeking out jobs that in the past, have usually been filled by teens.

Currently, finding a place to stay after leaving home due to conflict is left in the hands teens, who often will stay at places that they think are safe, but turn out not to be.

Instead, it should be communities, churches, social service agencies and schools that give teens support whether it be creating safe-houses, providing mediation between youth and their parents or preventing the problem before it starts.

Although no immediate solutions were found, Gurney said just bring the issue to the public’s attention is a crucial step in the right direction. Area clergy will discuss the issue at 7 p.m. Nov. 11 in the Bass Room at Franklin Memorial Hospital.

sdepoy@sunjournal.com

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