This wide-ranging book analyzes the problem of youth homelessness in the western world. Taking into account psychological characteristics while highlighting the major risk factors in the family, at school and in society at large, the authors offer both practitioners and policymakers tools for dealing with all aspects of this issue. Within a clear conceptual and theoretical framework, Jan van der Ploeg and Evert Scholte define the phenomenon of homelessness, drawing on data from across Europe and North America to establish its scope and prevalence among young people today. Always alive to the practical implications of their analysis, they provide a thorough and comprehensive strategy for addressing the plight of the homeless in which prevention and intervention go hand-in-hand.