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Homeless Advocates: Teen Homelessness A Big Problem

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Homeless Advocates: Teen Homelessness A Big Problem

By Katie DeLong

MILWAUKEE - Homeless advocates say teen homelessness is becoming a big problem in the city of Milwaukee. They say hundreds of teens roam the streets every night with no place to go. Almost a dozen teens staged a rally on the steps of the county courthouse Tuesday. They were protesting a growing problem in the city: teen homelessness. “There's a lot of teenagers outside tonight that don't have no place to go, so we want to protest to raise some awareness about it,” Kaya King said. Homeless advocates say on any given night, almost 400 teens in Milwaukee are roaming the streets looking for a place to stay. Advocates say many never find it because there are only 16 shelter beds specifically dedicated to homeless youth. Advocates say the main reason is because no one knows. “The issue of teen homelessness in Milwaukee is a shadow issue. It's an invisible issue,” Daniel Magnusen from the Counseling Center of Milwaukee said. King was one of them. During difficult times in her youth, she lived in a shelter. She said she was vulnerable and had no place else to go. “The last people who should be homeless right now is youth because they have no resources right now to help them with that,” King said. Many of the kids at Tuesday protest know firsthand what it's like to be homeless. They say they are raising their voices for the hundreds of kids on the street every night who don't have a voice. “I am very, very frustrated that no one could put effort in building homes or building more shelters for the homeless,” Shenice Holley said. Holley says she is channeling that frustration into action. She says these teens are hoping city leaders and the community not only become aware of the problem, but take action to do something about it.