COH-AWH-What_Would_it_Take

Lack of services and supports also made youth’s own
mental health and addictions challenges more difficult,
both before and after becoming homelessness.
Youth reported that there were few services, rehabs, detox centres, or housing programs for
youth with addictions, especially in smaller communities. Available services often had long
waitlists, which some youth viewed as life threatening. Youth also viewed the lack of available
safe injection sites as very dangerous, with several youth discussing how hard it was to manage
their addiction on the streets. Fortunately, youth also reported that some social services
provided crucial mental health supports that saved their lives. This was often contrasted with
the broader social stigma and discrimination they perceived in their community.
“Say you’re a parent, and you’re addicted to drugs and you want to provide your kid
with every opportunity, but you don’t have those incentives available. You’re not going
to ask for help if you know you’re going to lose your kid. You need to have a safe place
to go to, at the end of the day. I’m not doing drugs, and I’m scared to talk about what
I’d do with my mental health because my kid can get taken away … You need to have
somewhere safe where you can say, ‘I am in trouble, I am broken, I need help, I have
chosen drugs, or steaming, or this path instead of asking for help and now it’s too late,
I need help. Please do not through me in jail or take my kids away, please just help me.’
That’s not there. That’s just not there. That needs to happen.”
CALGARY YOUTH
WHAT WOULD IT TAKE? 109