'I've been homeless for six years': Brianna DeMaio, 18, is one of more than a million homeless youth in the United States. How do they survive on the streets?

• Author: Potenza, Alessandra

On nights when she can't crash on a friend's couch or find a bed at a shelter, Brianna DeMaio has to sleep in a park, huddled up inside a tube slide in a playground, or in a shed or under a bridge. In the winter, she tries to ward off frostbite by wearing gloves and doubling up on socks.

DeMaio, now 18, has been homeless for six years, since she, her mother, and her older sister were evicted from their house in Portland, Maine. DeMaio's mother struggled with alcohol abuse and couldn't keep up with the bills. After the family lost the house, DeMaio's sister went to live with friends, her mother moved in with her boyfriend, and DeMaio was left to survive on her own.

During the day, she kept going to school as often as she could, not telling anyone about her situation. At night, she spent much of her time on the street, often struggling to find enough food. Sometimes she ate at a shelter. Other times, she stole food and soda from stores.

But nothing was worse than sleeping outside. She still remembers the first night she spent in a park, huddled up in a couple of thick blankets in the middle of winter.

"I was scared out of my wits," she says. "I didn't know what was going to happen.... I never thought it would get that bad for me."

DeMaio is one of the more than 1 million young people who are homeless in the United States. Many end up on the streets because their parents lost their jobs and can't pay the rent. Some have run away from poverty, abuse, violence, or alcohol and drug problems, or aged out of the foster care system. Others have come out as gay and been rejected by their families.

At night, they sleep in parks, alleys, cars, abandoned buildings, and on subways and buses. The lucky ones couch surf with friends or relatives, or find cots in emergency shelters filled with dozens, and sometimes hundreds, of other homeless people. During the day, many go to school or college, or try to find jobs.

Although the overall number of homeless Americans is declining, the number of homeless young people in the U.S. is at an all-time high. According to the Department of Education, about 1.2 million students in grades K-12 are homeless (see map, p. 12)--up 72 percent since 2007.

And this number doesn't include thousands more homeless youth who aren't enrolled in school or attending college. Some estimates put the number of homeless youth at 2 million.

The primary culprit in the surge of homelessness is the severe recession that began in 2008. While the economy has improved, 10 million people are still looking for jobs and 15 percent of Americans are living in poverty. Another factor is a shrinking safety net--including federal cuts in affordable housing programs--which caused many families barely making ends meet to slide into homelessness.

"There are some myths out there about homeless youth and about, oh, they are incorrigible kids; they just don't follow the rules," says Marian Carney, who runs a youth shelter in Lewiston, Maine. But in reality, Carney says, "their lives are very complicated, they're full of trauma."

Regardless of how young people become homeless, they face a lot of the same struggles--including malnutrition, abuse, addiction, and depression. Every day, they have the incredible stress of finding food and shelter for the night, and for many, hiding their situation from others.

"They're really hoping to remain invisible;" says Jody Waits, the director...