New York City is shuttling new arrivals into a different propped up shelter system than the general homeless population — a process that’s leaving older teens and young adult migrants without access to existing services designed for them, providers and advocates said.

Homeless young people between 16 and 24 generally have the option to stay in separate facilities from the adult homeless population if there’s room. Yet the city isn’t screening migrants by age other than distinguishing between adults over 18 years old and families with or without children, its own data shows.

More than half a dozen housing and legal providers say migrants in their late teens and early 20s have unique housing, mental health and education needs and could be eligible for other forms of immigration relief.

But they face a double-edged problem: The city isn’t formally referring younger arrivals to homeless youth shelters and the resources that come with it — and even if it did, there still aren’t enough beds to meet demand. That means eligible migrants could be missing out on help with school enrollment, GED resources, or applying for a juvenile visa.

Read the full story at Gothamist.com