In social work, we encounter the hardships of people from very different backgrounds and contexts. Homelessness is a type of social and societal exclusion. Homelessness is therefore a way of life that forces an individual, due to various factors, to live in a place where they do not feel safe. It is multifaceted and when working with homeless people, we are usually confronted with intersectional issues, which typically include poverty, social exclusion, housing, financial assistance, etc. (Springer, 2000). With all that I have listed, the task and role of social work is to try to support homeless people and to enable them to live a more dignified and, above all, safe life through their work. But when it comes to young people who are in a housing crisis or who end up on the streets for whatever reason, they need even more attention, care and adaptation. Bilčić (2019) found out that employees of various organisations that carry out street outreach work see an increase in the number of homeless young people from year to year. She believes that existing programmes do not offer or meet the specific needs of young people. She has found that collective treatment is detrimental at best, as it helps young people to assimilate more quickly into the homeless subculture and extreme survivalist ways of life. Crisis centres offer only temporary accommodation, while educational institutions are a form of out-of-family care, where it has recently become clear (Martinjak, 2017) that such institutions do not adapt to the needs of young people. Working with homeless young people in terms of prevention work against homelessness in older age, because as the literature shows, homelessness is often linked to childhood abuse and dysfunctional families (Biscotto, Jesus, Silva, Olivera in Merighi, 2016). The first part of the research focuses on a quantitative approach, utilizing acquired material to test hypotheses and provide scientific evidence, as described by Mesec (2009, p. 68). The goal was to assess the extent to which shelters for the homeless, educational institutions (professional centers), and crisis centers are adapted to the needs of young people. The research, which is also descriptive, aimed at quantitatively defining the basic characteristics of the studied phenomenon (Mesec, 2009, p. 81). The second part of the research employed a qualitative approach, involving the collection of verbal descriptions of opinions and experiences from four professional workers in non-governmental organizations predominantly engaged in street work. These include the Youth Center Bob in Ljubljana, the associations Kralji ulice and DrogArt, and a professional worker in Switzerland, in the city of Bern, at the non-governmental organization Gassen Arbeit, where they opened the first youth shelter in Switzerland, named Pluto. Using qualitative methodology, I gathered data on how street work contributes to the identification of youth homelessness, the various types of youth homelessness encountered in their work, how youth shelters can act preventively against homelessness in later years, and the role played by youth shelters using the example of Switzerland. Since the topic of homelessness among minors and youth in Slovenia is still relatively unexplored, my research is exploratory and inquiry-based, uncovering and defining new characteristics in this field. The study is also empirical, as I collected experiential data by directly questioning professionals in shelters, crisis centers, educational institutions, youth centers, and youth shelters, providing answers to the posed research questions (Mesec, 2009, p. 80).
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