Here is the methodology and results of the 2013 Youth Count! conducted in Billings, Montana. This was the first ever survey of homeless youth in this community.

1. Metro VISTA ProjectYouth Count!
2013

2. Emily, Chelsia, and Josh: AmeriCorps
VISTAs

3. Billings, Montana
• 2012 Population:
106,954
• Area:
41.6 square miles
• 2013 HUD estimate:
338 homeless in
Billings
• 2013 Youth Count!

4. Youth Count! 2013
 Billings
Metro VISTA
Project
 City of
Billings, Co
mmunity
Development
Division
 Tumblewee

5. Youth Count! 2013
There was no accurate picture of the number, characteristics and needs of
homeless youth in Billings, Montana. Each January, communities across the
country conduct a census, Point-In-Time (PIT) count of their homeless
populations. Data on unaccompanied homeless youth is currently
unavailable, as a national standard for counting this cohort has not yet been
established. Available PIT data vastly under-represents the number of youth
experiencing homelessness and services required to impact poverty
conditions.
Youth Count! was sponsored by the City of Billings as a component of
Welcome Home Billings, the City's ten-year plan to impact homelessness.
This joint effort between Tumbleweed and the Billings Metro VISTA Project
originated through the City's Community Development Division

6. Definitions of Youth
Homelessness
 Homeless: The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act
definition of a homeless youth is any child or youth under the age of
eighteen who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime
residence. For example, youth who reside in: runaway/homeless
youth shelters; transitional housing; doubled-up in housing with
other families or friends; couch-surfing; hotels or motels; shelters
with family members; and campgrounds. The definition also
includes those living in places unfit for human habitation, including
cars, abandoned buildings, lots, parks, alleyways, uninhabitable
trailers, or the streets.
 Precariously Housed: Youth who are unaccompanied and on
their own including those: in foster care and juvenile justice custody;
who have left the system without a place to live; or placed into
transitional housing including group homes, treatment centers and
shelters.
 At-Risk: Youth who are in danger of becoming precariously
housed or homeless due to inadequate financial stability, lack of a

7. Survey
Instrumen
t: Positive
Youth
Developme
nt Model
7 page, 42
question
survey
Questions
included
standard
demographics
and housing
status
Compassionat
e
understanding
without
judgment

8. Volunteer Training Sessions

9. Youth Count! Survey Zones
Map

10. 200 Goodie Bags:
Water, candy, snack
bars, chap stick

11. Youth Count! VISTA volunteers

12. Youth Count! Survey
Administration

13. Youth Count! Data and
Findings
What do
you need
most in
your life
right now?
“A
family
—just
not
mine”
 176 surveys were completed
over a three day period
 96 surveys were completed by
youth ages 13-21
 73 (76%) youth are
experiencing homelessness
 13 (14%) precariously housed
youth
 10 (10%) youth who are at-risk
of homelessness

14. Overall Population: Surveyed
Youth
Male
50%
Female
50%
Gender
96 Respondents
White
58%
Native
American
15%
African
American
4%
Hispanic/Latino
6%
Multi-Racial
12%
Asian/Pacific
Islanders
2%
Unknown
3%
Race / Ethnicity
96 Respondents

15. 5
6
17
22
17
10
4
6
9
Thirteen Fourteen Fifteen Sixteen Seventeen Eighteen Nineteen Twenty Twenty one
Age by Number of Responses
96 Respondents

16. Yes
46%
No
54%
Access to Government
Identification
41 Respondents+
Yes
60%
No
40%
Access to Birth
Certificate
42 Respondents+
Yes
63%
No
37%
Access to
Social Security Card
41 Respondents+

17. Yes
26%
No
65%
Sometimes
9%
Do you have a permanent residence?
96 Respondents

18. < One Week
13%
> One Week
16%
> One Month
38%
> Year
33%
How long have you been without a
permanent place to live?
45 Respondents

19. Outside
64%
Friend's
House/Couch
Surfing
13%
Legal
Guardian
9%
Group Home
6%
Shelter
2%
Treatment Center
2%
Caretaker
1%
Car
1% Parking
Garage
1%
Pre-Release
1%
Other
8%
Where did you sleep last night?
88 Respondents: Open-ended question, 88 responses indicated
Where did you sleep last night?

20. 3
3
3
5
5
7
10
23
32
56
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Other*
Shelter/Youth Shelter
Foster Care
Doubled-Up
Car
Group Home
Caretaker/Not Legal Guardian
Legal Guardian
Friend's House/Couch Surfing
Outside
Where do you usually sleep?
96 Respondents - Question indicated 'check all that apply'

21. Yes
33%
No
67%
Have you been in foster care?
36 Respondents+
One
responden
t had been
with 10
foster
parents.
Another
responden
t had lived
in 13
different
foster
homes

22. Yes
44%
No
46%
Sometimes
10%
Do you attend school?
41 Respondents+

23. Elementary
2%
Middle
School
13%
High School
58%
HS
Diploma/GED
27%
Highest Education Level
45 Respondents+

24. Have
you
ever
been
bullied?
“They
cyber
bullied
me so
bad I
[was]
suicida
Yes
69%
No
29%
Not Sure
2%
Have you ever
been bullied?
45 Respondents
Physic
al
13%
Verbal
87%
Type of Bullying
23 Respondents

25. 4
7
13
6
1
2
14
13
7
Week or less Less than a
Month
Month or
more
Year or more Never Don't know
Last time seen by a health care professional?
33/34 Respondents+
Doctor Dentist

26. Yes*
10%
No
90%
Forced Sexual Favors?
50 Respondents
*5 respondents: 3 Males/2 Females

27. Yes
47%
No
53%
Sexually Abused?
40 Respondents+

28. Yes
52%
No
48%
Diagnosed Mental Health Condition?
46 Respondents+
Do you
have any
diagnose
d mental
health
condition
s?
“ Not
yet ”

29. 6
2
4
4
7
8
11
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Other*
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Anxiety
Attention Deficit Disorder
Clinical Depression
Bi-Polar Disorder
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Diagnosis
42 Respondents+ - Question allowed multiple responses
*Other includes one response for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and one response for each of the
following disorders: Autism Spectrum; Obsessive Compulsive; Oppositional Defiant; Reactive

30. What is it that
you feel you
don’t have
control over?
“My
life, becau
se my dad
won’t let
me be who
I want to
be”
None
3%
One
31%
Two
23%
Three or
more
43%
How many caregivers have
you grown up with?
35 Respondents+

31. 22
32
36
25
21
25
18
13
25
29
3
0
1
0 0
Emotionally
Supportive?
Told you to leave
home?
Cursed at you? Made you feel
unsafe?
Used drugs in the
home?
Questions Relating to Primary Caregivers
50 Respondents
Yes No Sometimes

32. Treatment/
Support
5% Education
7%
Health Care
22%
Housing
24%
Food
42%
Services Utilized
Responses also
included
identification of
the following
organizations
utilized for
services:
- Tumbleweed
- The HUB
- Montana
Rescue
Mission
- Saint Vincent
de Paul

33. Transportation
4%
Legal
8%
Housing
14%
Treatment*
16%Job/$
29%
Family Issues
29%
Barriers to services

34. 2
4
5
7
7
7
10
13
Transportation
Employment
Day Center/Place*
Clothing
Housing
Treatment
Food
Family/Support
What do you need most in your life?
37 Respondents - 55 issues identified in narrative responses

35. 5
4
5
11
11
*Other
Day Center/Entertainment/Recreation
Support/Services
Housing
Entertainment/Recreation
What services/programs does Billings need?
40 Respondents - 36 issues identified in narrative responses
15 total responses for a Day Center, indoor entertainment and recreation, parks, sports
and places to hang out. *Other includes one response for each of the following:
transportation, spiritual establishment, employment, elder services and alternative school.

36. Citations and Information
 City of Billings, Community Development
Division, Homeless Initiatives:
http://ci.billings.mt.us/youthcount
 Joshua J. Downes & Chelsia Davis
AmeriCorps VISTA, Billings Metro VISTA Project