Youth homelessness represents a complex social issue that goes beyond the question of lacking accommodation and significantly affects young people’s development and opportunities. It is often hidden, stigmatized, cyclical, and overlooked. Therefore, I aim to gain a deeper understanding of youth homelessness, raise awareness of the issue, and offer proposals for improved support. This master’s thesis explores youth homelessness through two key perspectives: the narrative accounts of young people aged 18 to 26 who experienced homelessness in 2024-2025 in the Municipality of Ljubljana – whether living in shelters or other forms of supported accommodation, on the street, in temporary informal arrangement (e.g., staying with friends), or in inadequate housing outside their primary family home; and the perspective of professional workers in Slovenia who, up to 2025, had contact with homeless or housing-insecure youth and provided support within their respective organizations. I was interested in how professional workers understand youth homelessness and how young people themselves experience it: which factors they identify as crucial in the emergence of homelessness; what aspirations young people have for their future; to what extent existing support services meet their needs; and how professionals can be better supported in their work. The research was based on a qualitative methodological approach. I collected the data through narrative interviews with young people with lived experience of homelessness and semi-structured interviews with professional workers. Data analysis followed the principles of qualitative analysis. The findings show that youth homelessness extends far beyond living on the street and is connected to various forms of housing insecurity. Key risk factors include dysfunctional family relationships, violence, neglect, poverty, addiction, lack of support, and systemic shortcomings. The results indicate that homelessness significantly disrupts young people’s developmental processes by forcing them prematurely into adult roles. Young people in the transition to adulthood who become homeless are in a life stage that should allow space for exploration, mistakes, learning, and gradual independence. Instead, each day becomes a struggle for survival. On the street, they face numerous dangers and instability. Important protective factors include supportive relationships, peer assistance, internal motivation for change, and access to various forms of help. Despite difficult life circumstances, most young people express a desire for safe housing, employment, financial stability, and a better future, although prolonged exposure to homelessness can lead some to lose hope and motivation. Structural barriers often prevent them from exiting homelessness. The longer a person remains on the street, the harder it becomes to leave, which highlights the need for rapid intervention. The research also revealed a significant gap between the needs of young people and the capacities of the support system, particularly regarding inaccessibility, exclusion, stigmatization, and insufficient resources. Young people often do not know where to seek help or avoid services because they are designed for the broader homeless population, with which they do not wish to identify. Professional workers frequently experience powerlessness and overload, indicating the need to strengthen support for them as well, so that they can provide more effective assistance. To support young people better, comprehensive, specifically targeted, developmentally attuned, and low-threshold approaches are required – approaches that, in addition to meeting basic needs, enable long-term stabilization, social inclusion, and a successful transition to adulthood.
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