Jennifer Lystrup, a teacher of social justice at Christian Brothers High School, tackled the ongoing issue of homelessness among youths in her first documentary, “Beautiful Youth.” “Beautiful Youth” chronicles the individual stories of several homeless transition-age youths – youths between the ages of 18 and 24 – in Sacramento told in their own words. “A lot of them were optimistic or at least willing to try to talk about what’s going on. They want to be heard as much as anyone else,” said ... dbromme klmenard comment-62715 2012-01-25T03:05:46Z 2012-01-25T03:05:46Z How can we get a copy of this documentary?? klmenard 2012-01-25T03:05:46Z jenson12 comment-58755 2011-10-17T19:39:07Z 2011-10-17T19:39:07Z jen, please get ahold of me asap! Sonny Iverson has my number thanks again jenson12 2011-10-17T19:39:07Z jenson12 comment-58754 2011-10-17T19:37:59Z 2011-10-17T19:37:59Z hello, names elizabeth. i WAS IN the documentry. and i cant tell you how many people came up to me, and acknowledged me for being brave. Ive came along way. on November 28th ill be celebrating 18 months clean... tHANKS TO WIND YOUTH SERVICES AND HARM REDUCTION SERVICES! jenson12 2011-10-17T19:37:59Z manbehind thecurtain comment-55844 2011-08-24T23:21:55Z 2011-08-24T23:21:55Z 18-24, and even just 18-22, is a population that is completely ignored by society. Someone that I confide, talked with me about my frustration concerning this issue, and I expressed my suspicions that the reason this population of homeless is being ignored is because, if there were an organization addressing it, it would ultimately cut down on a HUGE portion of the adult population of homelessness, ultimately causing funding for adult homeless services to decrease. If homelessness is being addressed at the early stages, the success rate of getting these people off the streets increases, therefore leaving a much smaller adult population of homelessness, which would require less $$. My friend agreed that that could VERY WELL be the case. He pointed out how our prison system functions in much the same capacity. If these criminals actually got help to rehabilitate and reform, what would all the prison guards do for work? They would all lose their jobs!!! "Did you know that there is a prison guard's Union?!" So that is how the union protects the prison guards from losing their jobs; keep the prison population criminal minded w/out hope or help to reform, and you got a $ maker!! manbehind thecurtain 2011-08-24T23:21:55Z manbehind thecurtain comment-55842 2011-08-24T23:05:30Z 2011-08-24T23:05:30Z One of the MAJOR issues that is NOT being addressed concerning homeless youth is the transition age. Transition age youth are the 18-24 population of homeless youth. People have little or no interest in providing this age group with services to help them out of their situation. There are quite a few services that help the cause of under 18 homelessness, and there are NONE for the transition age. Transition age includes foster youth who upon turning 18 are often abandoned by their foster family. Also, 18 is the age that the parents of the 18y/o can legally absolve themselves of any further obligation. These are the homeless youth that are slipping thru the cracks, not getting the help they need and deserve. Years down the road, still homeless, they flood and adult shelters and services such as Loaves and Fishes, Salvation Army, etc...etc... If there is anyone on this forum that has a true interest in helping, and some knowledge of social services, can any of you please explain to me why it is that there are no transition age youth services in Sacramento, and many other cities and states? And if you can answer that question, can you also explain to me how it makes sense to NOT have this type of service integrated into the system of care? Because as I see it, that is why we have so many homeless age 30-60. I found on the larkin street website, (which is a homeless service provider organization in SF that works with homeless youth ages 0-24) a pie chart that represented the youth pop they work with; approximately 23% of the youth 0-17, and 77% of the youth 18-24. I crunched the numbers for the youth in Sacramento and the percentages are nearly identical. That coupled with my experience on street outreach, where most of the youth I see are 18-24, tells me that there is something hugely wrong with the way our service provider system is set up. manbehind thecurtain 2011-08-24T23:05:30Z LivingAwake comment-55322 2011-08-17T20:27:43Z 2011-08-17T20:27:43Z Jennifer, You should contact StandUpForKids.org. They are a national organization that works with homelessness of youth. They are financial supported by a large group. Maybe there could be some synergy and there could be national screenings of your documentary;. Enough at least to draw attention to the issue there where you are at. LivingAwake 2011-08-17T20:27:43Z Tony Sheppard comment-55094 2011-08-15T08:20:53Z 2011-08-15T08:20:53Z If we have enough of a response, we'll play it a second time at 8pm that same evening :) Tony Sheppard 2011-08-15T08:20:53Z Dora Bromme comment-55089 2011-08-14T19:53:06Z 2011-08-14T19:53:06Z Update: The documentary will be shown at the Crest Theater on Thurs, Aug. 18 at 6pm as part of the Sacramento Film and Music Festival. The festival will take place Aug.17 through Aug. 21. Dora Bromme 2011-08-14T19:53:06Z Dora Bromme comment-55042 2011-08-12T22:54:17Z 2011-08-12T22:54:17Z The two mentioned in the article, WIND Youth Services and Harm Reduction Services, deal with these issues, and it can be very inspiring for the youth in these situations to work with people who have been in those shoes themselves. I'm sure there are other service organizations out there that need more people to help, but many of them don't get the outreach they need for the youth to recognize them as resources. Good luck to you! Dora Bromme 2011-08-12T22:54:17Z Deborah6 comment-54955 2011-08-11T13:51:47Z 2011-08-11T13:51:47Z I would love to be part of working on this issue. I was a homeless youth from ages 13 to 17. As an adult I now have my own family, a bachelor's degree working as a RN. Things can change for these kids, but it takes WORK from them and a supportive environment. I'd love to do outreach. Any organization out there that might see a match with me? Deborah6 2011-08-11T13:51:47Z Dora Bromme comment-54838 2011-08-10T22:58:39Z 2011-08-10T22:58:39Z There are quite a few stories the youth tell which compelled them to leave their homes, and yes, that is one of them. Keep checking back to our comments page periodically and we'll update with any information about a possible screening for the documentary. Thanks for your interest! Dora Bromme 2011-08-10T22:58:39Z Ken Pierce comment-54836 2011-08-10T04:37:20Z 2011-08-10T04:37:20Z There are many kids who happen to be LGBT out there on our streets because they were kicked out of their homes for being gay or lesbian. I wounder if one of their stories are included in this film? Ken Pierce 2011-08-10T04:37:20Z DaniAmour comment-54827 2011-08-09T23:02:44Z 2011-08-09T23:02:44Z I had Ms. Lystrup as a teacher in high school. Currently am a social worker and recently worked with homeless youth in a transitional housing program. This documentary addresses a population with many needs. Thank you Ms. Lystrup for bringing awareness! Looking forward to watching it. DaniAmour 2011-08-09T23:02:44Z alellis251969 comment-54815 2011-08-09T19:52:11Z 2011-08-09T19:52:11Z Wonderful work Jennifer! We need to connect! I'm currently working on my EdD all of my research is on how to best serve young people who are experiencing or affected by homelessness. I just started a blog http://unheard-and-unseen.blogspot.com/ all of my contact information is there. My email is unheardandunseen@gmail.com Hopefully we can connect soon as I believe there is some intersection with our work. alellis251969 2011-08-09T19:52:11Z Dora Bromme comment-54741 2011-08-08T20:27:15Z 2011-08-08T20:27:15Z That sounds great- I'll shoot her an email. I'm sure any support would be appreciated. Thanks for commenting! Dora Bromme 2011-08-08T20:27:15Z Tony Sheppard comment-54740 2011-08-08T19:45:10Z 2011-08-08T19:45:10Z If anybody knows Jennifer, please have her contact me about a possible benefit screening: tony@csus.edu Tony Sheppard 2011-08-08T19:45:10Z Dale Kooyman comment-54634 2011-08-06T18:46:29Z 2011-08-06T18:46:29Z Indeed it is! Very sad and to think that much of the misery could have been avoided had the majority of Board of Supervisors not opposed and homeless providers on the now defunct Homeless Board exercised their power and influence to defeat establishing comprehensive Homeless Service Centers for all ages throughout the county. Dale Kooyman 2011-08-06T18:46:29Z Sherrie Tyler comment-54624 2011-08-06T07:42:35Z 2011-08-06T07:42:35Z This is an important article about a documentary with a powerful perspective and enlightenment on "Youth Homelessness". Sherrie Tyler 2011-08-06T07:42:35Z