COH-AWH-What_Would_it_Take

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“They [the government] should tell the police to stop picking up the kid who looks a little trashy, to leave the kid alone. The kid on a park bench who’s resting a little, tell the police officers to stop bothering them. Because he’s not doing anything … He’s resting … Vancouver is the worst spot for that. I was working, I had my bag, I was going home to my house. I had a house, a life, and the cops came up to me - I was a little trashy, and I was waiting for the bus. And they told me to get off the street. But the street is “GrandeVille,” it’s a big street, and I had to walk, and they followed me the whole way. I told them that I had just come from work and that I was waiting for the bus to go back home, it didn’t change a thing. Because I was young, and I looked a little trashy.” YELLOWKNIFE YOUTH
MOVING FORWARD Canadian research shows that youth who are homeless are almost six times more likely to be victims of violent crime than the general population (Gaetz et al., 2016). However, few youth reported turning to the police when they were victimized. Why? According to many youth in this study, it is an issue of trust. Through their experiences of being ignored, shamed, or silenced when they sought help for family violence, youth learned that the police would not protect them. For some, this was further emphasized when they experienced police profiling or criminalization because of their race and class. These experiences may contribute to a general distrust of all state or government systems, causing some youth to further distance themselves from services that might actually help escape homelessness. More broadly, these experiences suggest that class, race, and age significantly affect one’s access to justice in Canada. The amount of times that I’ve had to call a cop … once they deescalate the situation, they just leave. They don’t ask how I am doing … Social services didn’t come to my school the next day. I was like, are you kidding me?” VANCOUVER YOUTH Given the importance of crime reduction in many communities, and the significant funding often allocated to it, these young people raise three areas of crime that desperately need to be reduced: child abuse; violence against youth who are poor and homeless; and the criminalization of, and violence against, Indigenous Peoples and POC. It is clear that greater access to justice is needed for young people who are poor, who are experiencing abuse, and who are Indigenous. This includes young women and gender-minority youth who commonly experience sexual violence on the streets (Gaetz et al., 2016). The trauma and challenges that often result from violent victimization without redress contribute to trapping young people in homelessness and poverty (Gaetz, 2004). This means that homelessness prevention must involve systematically rethinking how the criminal justice system can better serve young people, as well as provide youth with the knowledge and supports they need to protect. WHAT WOULD IT TAKE? 101
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WHAT WOULD IT TAKE? Youth Across Ca
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This research was made possible thr
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Are we making sig
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YOUTH’S PERSPECTIVES ON PREVENTIO
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Youth’s Proposed Solutions • In
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• Lack of education for youth on
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“My trauma led me down a wrong pa
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5. Align ministerial, departmental,
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INTEGRATED GOVERNMENT SUPPORTS 1. W
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INTRODUCTION Youth homelessness in
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Systems change is difficult work. T
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Finally, youth homelessness prevent
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CONSULTATION PROCESS National consu
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Prior to beginning the study, resea
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62 % Self-identified as currently e
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WHAT IS YOUTH HOMELESSNESS PREVENTI
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YOUTH’S PERSPECTIVES ON PREVENTIO
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WHAT WOULD IT TAKE? 1. STRUCTURAL P
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“I think that affordable housing
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LOW SOCIAL ASSISTANCE RATES Many yo
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LOW WAGES & TIGHT JOB MARKETS In th
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MOVING FORWARD To ensure better out
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1.2 LACK OF HOUSING While youth vie
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Public Housing Challenges The lack
Page 49 and 50: MOVING FORWARD The solutions propos
Page 51 and 52: “Well, for me, like, because of r
Page 53 and 54: MOVING FORWARD Indigenous youth vie
Page 55 and 56: “I have friends that are in foste
Page 57 and 58: MOVING FORWARD While youth describe
Page 59 and 60: 1.5 HARMFUL SOCIETAL BELIEFS & VALU
Page 61 and 62: “A lot of systems are still set u
Page 63 and 64: ADDRESSING ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERI
Page 65 and 66: WHAT WOULD IT TAKE? 2. SYSTEMS PREV
Page 67 and 68: 2.1 EDUCATION For young people who
Page 69 and 70: 2. Professional Training For the mo
Page 71 and 72: Investments • Provide significant
Page 73 and 74: “Educating teachers, principals,
Page 75 and 76: Experiences in Foster Care Many you
Page 77 and 78: Difficult Transitions from Care Tra
Page 79 and 80: “My parents were good enough at l
Page 81 and 82: 2.3 HEALTHCARE & ADDICTIONS For you
Page 83 and 84: An additional issue raised by many
Page 85 and 86: MOVING FORWARD Without a Home: The
Page 87 and 88: 2.4 YOUTH HOMELESSNESS SECTOR In fo
Page 89 and 90: “Requirements to access help some
Page 91 and 92: “Yeah, when I first moved in [to
Page 93 and 94: PREVENTING YOUTH HOMELESSNESS IN TH
Page 95 and 96: While the recommendations below can
Page 97 and 98: 2.5 CRIMINAL JUSTICE A common conce
Page 99: PREVENTING YOUTH HOMELESSNESS IN TH
Page 103 and 104: WHAT WOULD IT TAKE? 3. PREVENTING I
Page 105 and 106: ADDRESSING FAMILY CONFLICT, ABUSE,
Page 107 and 108: “This is real. We did not choose
Page 109 and 110: Lack of services and supports also
Page 111 and 112: MOVING FORWARD Youth across the cou
Page 113 and 114: ADDRESSING SOCIAL EXCLUSION & ISOLA
Page 115 and 116: “I’m just trying to say that, i
Page 117 and 118: ADDRESSING VIOLENCE IN THE COMMUNIT
Page 119 and 120: YOUTH’S MESSAGES TO ALL LEVELS OF
Page 121 and 122: We need to dramatically shift our a
Page 123 and 124: RECOMMENDATIONS 1 GOVERNMENT OF CAN
Page 125 and 126: 5. Align ministerial, departmental,
Page 127 and 128: 2. Embed youth homelessness prevent
Page 129 and 130: INTEGRATED GOVERNMENT SUPPORTS 1. W
Page 131 and 132: 3. Require that all school boards a
Page 133 and 134: 5. Offer comprehensive, youth-focus
Page 135 and 136: 8. Systematically investigate and e
Page 137 and 138: Provincial/Territorial Ministries R
Page 139 and 140: 6. Seek to provide highly integrate
Page 141 and 142: 3. Foster meaningful youth engageme
Page 143 and 144: Gaetz, S., O’Grady, B., Kidd, S.,
Page 145: Statistics Canada. (2011). National
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