Homeless at-risk youth are one of the most vulnerable groups in our society. Services like housing support, mentoring, drop-in centers, and street outreach are how an adolescent's cognitive development can be supported through programs like Stand Up For Kids. Executive functions are higher-level cognitive processes that interact with lower-level cognitive processes in a way that allows the brain to focus our attention on goals, and adapt to situations or circumstances. The ability to do this is important for everyday life, in particular for education and employment, which have predicted developmental outcomes and risky behavior in adolescents. Executive functions are known to represent everyday decision-making. (Fry et. al, 2019)

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Stand Up For Kids focuses on mentorship; in-school and after-school mentoring, small group, and center-based mentoring. The study mentioned above shows that unhoused adolescents struggle more with working memory and impulsivity/risky decision-making. It also shows that the signs of adolescents struggling with executive functions impact housing-related outcomes for adolescents. With cognitive impairments when it comes to planning, their independence is greatly affected and causes hurdles to be present when trying to access the services they need. Stand Up For Kids supplying two mentors for each adolescent will be beneficial to their working memory by providing support through planning, and accountability when working towards their educational goals.

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Working memory impacts other abilities like planning, organizing, attention, learning, problem-solving, math, reading/literacy, reasoning, comprehension, cognitive load, speed of processing, monitoring, mind wandering, general school achievement, failure to self-correct, and ability to hold down employment. Small group and center-based mentoring help in these areas by assigning homework, resume and interview preparation, getting birth certificates, and developing life skills. Assigning homework may help with an adolescent's working memory. Considering unhoused youth struggle more with executive functions than housed youth, these services can make a difference in their success at school, future career options, being more likely to avoid risky behavior, and exiting homelessness.

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The study done by Fry et. al (2019) compared executive function performance in unhoused =young people and housed young people 16 to 19 years old. Researchers wanted to study the impacts executive functions have on their housing outcomes. Computerized executive function tasks were given to test their working memory, set-shifting/flexibility, planning, impulsivity/risky decision making, selective attention/inhibition, and verbal fluency. The results of the study showed that those with a working memory showed more progress into independent assistance and those with longer working memory were twice as likely (2.5x) to progress into independent housing within six months. Researchers also found that poor executive function was linked with youth homelessness and their ability to make their way to independence. 

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"Working memory was found to be the only predictor of housing outcome, that is, whether homeless young people maintained the type of accommodation they were already in or whether they progressed onto accommodation with less support. When looking at those with above-average working memory, these young people were 2.5 times more likely to have progressed rather than maintained compared to those of average or below working memory span."

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Main focuses of the study:

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1. Comparison was done between executive function performance in unhoused adolescents and housed adolescents. Similarities/differences among strengths and difficulties documented.

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2. Testing on executive function performance to predict housing outcomes after at least six months for unhoused adolescents.

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Unhoused adolescents showed worse executive function performance than housed adolescents. Areas of working memory and impulsivity/risky decision-making represented areas of more difficulty for unhoused adolescents. 

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"Homeless young people tended to demonstrate poorer performance on EF tasks than their housed peers, as hypothesized. Impulsivity/risky decision making and visuospatial working memory were two key areas of difficulty, but there was also evidence of problems with shifting/flexibility, selective attention/inhibition, and planning. Neither type of verbal fluency appeared to pose difficulties for the homeless group compared to housed peers." 

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A good working memory showed adolescents with more progression into independent accommodation, so unhoused adolescents with longer working memory spans were twice as likely to progress. Training working memory makes it possible for improvements in other areas of functioning since the evidence shows executive functions continue to develop in late adolescence to early adulthood.

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There are factors that can impact and disrupt cognitive development. These relate to an unhoused adolescent's experiences.

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Two major factors:

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1. Maltreatment/early life stress

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2. Poverty

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Poorer executive functioning, working memory, and familial trauma explained the difference in executive function performance after controlling for anxiety, socioeconomic status, and potential brain injury. Childhood maltreatment predicted poorer executive functioning in adulthood. Early life stress is associated with executive function difficulties and the lengthened development of the prefrontal cortex renders it particularly vulnerable to the effects of early adversity.

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Adolescents living in poverty showed worse performance on executive function and working memory tasks than housed adolescents. Small group and center-based mentoring offer basic necessities. Basic necessities supplied are food, clothing, and toiletries. This acts as a support for adolescents experiencing poverty by lowering their levels of distress when it comes to not having primary caregivers there to supply them with these necessities. There is also housing offered that gives them assistance in locating and taking care of an apartment, life skills training, a follow-up plan after being placed in independent living, weekly food baskets, clothes, furniture, counseling and moral support, referrals for medical and dental support, and housing stipends.

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Factors that affect young people’s ability to exit homelessness:

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-availability of affordable housing

-access to services

-relationships with family/family conflict

-maternal social support

-the experience of abuse

-school/education

-helpful/unhelpful peers

-more stability (less moving between services

-legal issues/involvement in criminal activity

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Other factors are considered by Stand Up For Kids like cognitive impairment, mental health, processing speed, previous independent living, and work experience when providing services. This program sees adolescents as each having a different reason for being unhoused and they are willing to work with them individually to meet their unique needs.​

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