Youth Homelessness:

A Communication
Perspective

Group 3
LaShonna McBride, Jamie McDaniel, Karen DeMasters,
Julie Fitch
 Youth Homelessness: Looking to
Communication Theory For
Solutions
Social Problem: Youth Homelessness in Washington State
According to a Landscape Study done by two agencies in Washington,
almost 13,000 unaccompanied youth ages 12-24 experience
homelessness in Washington State each year. (Noble, 2016).
Young adults may already be at a slight disadvantage in the efforts to
support themselves; the National Health Care for the Homeless Council
reported that young adults generally have less income, fewer benefits,
less savings, less social support, and less knowledge about housing
rights and resources than older adults. (Ammerman et al., 2004)
(Toolis, 2015, p. 50)
Homeless youth are at a high risk of many dangerous variables,
including sexual abuse, chemical dependency, family crisis, mental
health issues and human trafficking. (Teen Feed, 2016) (Anderson,
2016)
 What other factors contribute to
youth ending up on the streets?
Familial factors and/or disruption (i.e. physical or sexual abuse in
the home, no contact with non-custodial parent/s, high number of
residential moves, longstanding conflict with parents, etc.). (Toro,
Dworsky & Fowler, 2007, p. 6-5-6-7)
Youth who are a part of the LGBTQ community leave home at
higher rates and are at risk for greater victimization than their
heterosexual counterparts. (Cochran et al., 2002)
History of academic and behavioral problems (Toro, Dworsky &
Fowler, 2007, p. 6-5-6-7)
Elevated risk of mood disorders, suicide attempts and PTSD (Toro,
Dworsky & Fowler, 2007, p. 6-5-6-7)
Stereotypes and negative public perception often contribute to
homeless youth staying on the streets, as our countrys cultural
 Two-Fold Problem: How do we find
resolution?
Helping and Healing
How do we help these youth in their need to build
an understanding of their past and current
situation and their need for healthy development
and identity growth?
Lack of Awareness
How do we increase societys awareness and
understanding of this situation in order to improve
the support available and spur prevention of
youth Homelessness?
 Our Solution: Coordinated
Management of Meaning and
Narrative Paradigm Theories
Helping and Healing-Coordinated Management of
Meaning
Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM) theory is
described as a practical theory crafted to help make life
better for real people in a real world. (Griffin, 2012, p. 67)
A theory that was originally used to in the mediums of
meditation and therapy, one of CMMs primary characteristics
is the heuristic it provides for understanding the meaning of
each act in a conversation (Pearce & Pearce, 2000, p. 410)
CMM is based around the idea that person-in conversation co-
construct their own social realities and are simultaneously
shaped by the worlds they create (Griffin, 2012, p. 70)
 CMM: The Re-Construction of Social
Reality
In a study done by Pearce & Pearce in an effort to
demonstrate the power of reconstructing reality and
meaning, a project involving mediation between a city
council and community members was discussed.
When several people acted mean-spirited, obstructionist
or oppositional, Pearce & Pearce responded by interpreting
disagreements as welcomed identification of sites for
further exploration and understanding. (Pearce & Pearce,
2000, p. 410-411)
In some of the scenarios, Pearce & Pearce found that their
untraditional response was effective in changing the
intended meaning of the interaction. (Pearce & Pearce,
2000, p. 410-411)
Plan: How to apply this theory to our
problem
Providing technology-based, easily accessible resources
containing helpful information, education and
therapy/intervention services for homeless youth.
Creating groups of mentors who are well-versed in CMM
theory to assist homeless youth in talking about their
experiences and self perceptions in an effort to re-shape
their meaning.
Transitional education and preparation for homeless
youth; providing assistance with transitioning from the
streets into employment, school, adulthood, etc.
Creating a special group of homeless intervention
services for LGBTQ youth
 The Power of Personal Narratives
Drawing from the pillars of the CMM theory, the power of
personal narrative has the ability to either help or hinder
homeless youth, depending on how meaning is applied.
On a daily basis, homeless youth are confronted by
negative social impressions and the desperate
circumstances they face in their survival, which makes it
challenging to construct a meaningful and rational identity.
(Toolis, 2015, p. 50)
The challenge that homeless youth face in the effort to
reconstruct their identity lies in them tackling the
negotiation of stigma, as well as making meaning of
traumatic and disruptive life experience. (Toolis, 2015, p.
50)
 Raising Awareness: Narrative
Paradigm Theory
The Narrative Paradigm Theory, according to Griffin, is based on
the principle that individuals judge a good story based on the
two standards of narrative rationality: narrative coherence and
narrative fidelity. (Griffin, 307, 2012).
With Narrative Coherence being determined by how probable a
story sounds, and judging those stories by comparing them to
similar stories the listener has heard, it is important to get many
diverse stories of homeless youth out into the public realm to
build a comprehensive understanding. (Griffin, 2012, p. 313)
With Narrative Fidelity being determined by a storys ability to
strike a chord with the listener, it is pertinent that we emphasize
the universal human emotion contained in these stories, in an
effort to connect the listener to the community of homeless
youth. (Griffin, 2012, p. 314)
 The Persuasive Power of Story
In order to spread awareness, we need to keep in mind that
people are storytelling animals. (Griffin, 2012, p. 308).
Appealing to humanitys natural instinct to both tell and hear
stories will only help us in spreading the compelling stories of
homeless youth and promoting social change in the plight of the
homeless.
According to Griffin, A good story is a powerful means of
persuasion (Griffin, 2012, p. 315). The stories of homeless
youth, their trials and their tribulations will naturally strike a
chord and stir up interest in listeners.
Offering a story as a means of motivating change will more than
likely work better in our favor than mass amounts of evidence or
a tightly constructed argument. (Griffin, 2012, p. 308)
Plan: How to apply this theory to our
problem
The stories of homeless youth need to be told in as
many ways as possible-in writing, in video, in audio and
in the visual arts.
Increased visibility of this plight is key, and so these
stories need to be widely disseminated in the most
effective ways possible.
This wide dissemination will build an understanding
across society of the realities and the humanity of this
conveniently overlooked population.
It is important that homeless youth are not just heard,
but that they feel heard. Stigma and social alienation
only contributes to the cycle of life as a homeless youth.
 Conclusion: Problem and Plan of
Action
Homeless Youth: A Two-Fold Social Problem
Helping and Healing-how do we help homeless youth build an
understanding of their situation in their need for development
and growth?
Lack of Awareness-How do we increase societys awareness and
understanding improve support of the homeless youth
population?
Plan of Action
Utilizing Coordinated Management of Meaning theory to provide
technology based resources, mentoring, transitional guidance
and LGBTQ-specialized homeless intervention to assist
homeless youth with changing the meaning of their experiences
on the streets to affect positive change in their lives.
 Conclusion: Problem and Plan of
Action
Plan of Action
Employing the Narrative Paradigm theory in an effort to
disseminate the compelling stories of homeless youth
and appeal to the public that this is a cause that needs
attention and the help of others to alleviate.
 References
Anderson, S. B. (2016). A Way Home Washington listening tour What we heard.
Retrieved from http://www.awayhomewa.org/
Bullock, Heather. (2008). Factors influencing service use among homeless youths
with co-occurring disorders.Psychiatric Services, 64(9).
Cochran et al. (2002). Challenges faced by homeless sexual minorities: Comparison
of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender homeless adolescents with their
heterosexual counterparts.The American Public Health Association, 92(5).
Griffin, E. (2012). Communication communication communication: A first look at
communication theory. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Noble, C. (2016). Youth homelessness in Washington state: Landscape scan.
Retrieved from http://www.awayhomewa.org/
Pearce, W.B. and Pearce, K.A. (2000). Extending the theory of the coordinated
management of meaning (CMM) through a community dialogue process.
Communication Theory, 10(4), 405-423. Retrieved from
http://www.stesapes.med.ulg.ac.be/
 References
Teen Feed. (2016). Facts about homeless youth. Retrieved from
http://www.teenfeed.org/
Toolis, E.E. and Hammack, P.L. (2015). The lived experience of
homeless youth: A narrative approach. Qualitative Psychology,
2(1), 50-68. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/
doi:10.1037/qup0000019
Toro, P.A., Dworsky, A., & Fowler, P.J. (2007). Homeless youth in the
United States: Recent research findings and intervention
approaches. In D. Dennis, G. Locke, & J. Khadduri (Eds.), Toward
understanding homelessness: The 2007 National Symposium on
Homelessness Research, (pp. 231-263). Retrieved from
https://www.huduser.gov/