Tacoma youth homelessness a "crisis"

TACOMA, Wash. — At a summit on youth homelessness Sunday, Tacoma leaders and volunteers called the issue a "crisis".
 
"It's scary," said Simone. 
 
She is just coming out of homelessness.
 
She's one of an estimated 3,000 young people in a given year who struggle with homelessness in Tacoma and Pierce County. 
 
"I just hid, and I slept on people's couches, and I went home with strangers, just so I wouldn't be found," said Simone.
 
At a summit on homeless youth organized by the Junior League of Tacoma, KIRO 7 spoke to LaMont Green from the city's Office of Equity and Human Rights.
 
He said homeless youth often go unseen.
 
"It's often very invisible. You don't see them, very often, on the streets. They're usually in very high risk-risk situations," said Green.
 
And experts said young people in Tacoma need a designated place to sleep and feel safe.
 
Right now, a senior center by day is being used to house homeless youth at night.
 
"There's currently no youth shelter in the county. King County has a youth shelter, Thurston County has a shelter," said Cathy Nyugen, Tacoma's poet laureate.
 
There are about 5,000 to 10,000 youth who are homeless in King County, according to The King County Committee to End Homelessness.

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