COH-AWH-What_Would_it_Take

RECOMMENDATIONS 1
GOVERNMENT OF CANADA
1. Implement a Federal Strategy to Prevent and End Youth Homelessness with ambitious
targets, supported by a targeted investment. This strategy should be grounded in a
commitment to making Canada a world leader in preventing youth homelessness.
This Strategy should:
a) Advance and implement housing as a human right for all youth, regardless of citizenship status.
b) Adopt a national goal of ending homelessness with clear and measurable outcomes,
milestones, and criteria, as outlined in Opportunity Knocks: Prioritizing Canada’s Most
Vulnerable Youth.
c) Implement an independent review process to assess progress towards ending youth
homelessness in Canada.
d) Identify and advance program interventions that focus specifically on intervening well
before a young person experiences homelessness, and exiting youth from homelessness
as rapidly as possible.
e) Identify and advance policies and practices that proactively address the unique needs of
particular populations deemed to be at greater risk of homelessness, including Indigenous
youth, racialized youth, newcomer youth, and youth who identify as LGBTQ2S+.
f) Implement a focused prevention strategy to support young people who are under 16 and
at risk of homelessness, supported by targeted investments.
g) Work with Indigenous communities to develop and implement a focused homelessness
prevention strategy for Indigenous youth and their families, supported by targeted investments.
h) Prioritize the development of broad-based assessment tools and strategies to
determine risk of homelessness for youth, in partnership with provinces, territories,
and Indigenous governments.
i) Meaningfully involve young people with lived experience in the creation and monitoring
of this Strategy, compensating them for their work.
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These recommendations draw from and build upon recommendations identified in Without a Home: The National Youth Homelessness Survey;
Mental Health Care for Homeless Youth: A Proposal for Federal, Provincial, and Territorial Leadership, Coordination, and Targeted Investment;
Child Welfare and Youth Homelessness in Canada: A Proposal for Action; and Opportunity Knocks: Prioritizing Canada’s Most Vulnerable Youth.
We wish to thank all authors of these documents for their insights, and hope this document will extend the impact of their work.
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