PORT ANGELES — A report earlier this month that two teenagers living in a tent in Sequim were “homeless” struck a chord with the staff of Clallam County Juvenile and Family Services.
By the state and federal definitions, the boys were homeless, living without adequate shelter.
But for them to be labeled homeless, when they did have homes and families they could go to, and services they could utilize, “was a huge slap in the face to their mothers,” said Valerie Brooks, a probation counselor.
“I think it’s a slap in the face to the system, too,” agency director Pete Peterson said.
The label sparked conversation among Juvenile Services staff and highlights the differing opinions among people who provide resources to homeless or at-risk youth.
Peterson, Brooks and others at Juvenile Services disagree with the established definitions of homelessness and say that most of the young people in the community who tell others they are homeless really do have a place to go, but choose to be homeless.
People who provide the youth with help but don’t ask questions about their circumstances or try to connect them to services are doing a “disservice” to the community when there are resources already established, they say.
“We’re not saying kids don’t need some assistance,” said Peterson, noting that places like the six-month-old Dream Center for needy youth near downtown Port Angeles do provide positive help.
“It’s the long term, though. It’s like, where does it stop?”
A recent census in Clallam County counted 237 homeless minor children, based on how people identified themselves.
Peterson said PenCom, the county’s main police dispatching agency, has only six formal runaway reports from parents on file.
Currently there are 19 apprehension orders in the county, which are orders issued by a judge to pick up non-offenders such as truant youth who have stopped attending school, something that all youth are by law required to do until age 18.
And while about 400 youth are under probation through Juvenile Services, 42 warrants have been issued for those youth who have run away from the agency’s supervision, Peterson said.