COH-AWH-What_Would_it_Take

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COMMUNITIES 1. Develop and implement a communitylevel strategy or plan to Prevent and End Youth Homelessness with ambitious targets, supported by a targeted investment. 2. Prioritize and support systems integration (where appropriate) in all efforts to proactively address the needs of youth at risk of homelessness or experiencing homelessness. 3. Foster meaningful youth engagement in the development of community policies and responses that affect youth at risk of homelessness or experiencing homelessness. Ensure the provision of necessary supports (reimbursement, compensation, accessibility, etc.) at all events, forums, and discussion groups. 4. In reflecting on practice and programmatic responses to youth homelessness as articulated in the community-level strategy, community organizations should ensure prevention-based activities exist within the continuum of supports provided to youth. WHAT WOULD IT TAKE? 18
INTRODUCTION Youth homelessness in Canada is an ongoing problem for which we are making slow but insufficient headway. In our efforts to end homelessness, we have primarily focused on providing emergency services and supports to young people while they are homeless. While this is important and generally well-meaning, we need to question whether this is enough; whether waiting for young people to become homeless before we help them is both sufficient and the right thing to do. In considering how we might reform our response to youth homelessness, young people with lived experience of homelessness need to have their voices heard. Their valuable insights drawn from their experiences can challenge our current thinking and point to a new approach that more effectively helps young people before they end up on the streets. Between July 2017 and January 2018, A Way Home Canada and the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness consulted with over 100 youth on what it would take to prevent youth homelessness in Canada. We asked youth with lived experiences of homelessness what supports and services they wanted, what system and structural changes are needed, and how they want to be involved in making these changes. We also asked youth directly about what would have stopped them from becoming homeless, and what they wanted the Canadian government to know about youth homelessness prevention. This document reports on the findings of these consultations, demonstrating the depth and breadth of youth’s insights and passion for change. “If you are sleeping outside, in the middle of – like, why does it have to get THAT BAD before you qualify for help that you could have used like a year ago?” EDMONTON YOUTH WHAT WOULD IT TAKE? 19
Page 1 and 2: WHAT WOULD IT TAKE? Youth Across Ca
Page 3 and 4: This research was made possible thr
Page 5 and 6: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Are we making sig
Page 7 and 8: YOUTH’S PERSPECTIVES ON PREVENTIO
Page 9 and 10: Youth’s Proposed Solutions • In
Page 11 and 12: • Lack of education for youth on
Page 13 and 14: “My trauma led me down a wrong pa
Page 15 and 16: 5. Align ministerial, departmental,
Page 17: INTEGRATED GOVERNMENT SUPPORTS 1. W
Page 21 and 22: Systems change is difficult work. T
Page 23 and 24: Finally, youth homelessness prevent
Page 25 and 26: CONSULTATION PROCESS National consu
Page 27 and 28: Prior to beginning the study, resea
Page 29 and 30: 62 % Self-identified as currently e
Page 31 and 32: WHAT IS YOUTH HOMELESSNESS PREVENTI
Page 33 and 34: YOUTH’S PERSPECTIVES ON PREVENTIO
Page 35 and 36: WHAT WOULD IT TAKE? 1. STRUCTURAL P
Page 37 and 38: “I think that affordable housing
Page 39 and 40: LOW SOCIAL ASSISTANCE RATES Many yo
Page 41 and 42: LOW WAGES & TIGHT JOB MARKETS In th
Page 43 and 44: MOVING FORWARD To ensure better out
Page 45 and 46: 1.2 LACK OF HOUSING While youth vie
Page 47 and 48: 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
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Investments • Provide significant
Page 73 and 74:
“Educating teachers, principals,
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Experiences in Foster Care Many you
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Difficult Transitions from Care Tra
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“My parents were good enough at l
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2.3 HEALTHCARE & ADDICTIONS For you
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An additional issue raised by many
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MOVING FORWARD Without a Home: The
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2.4 YOUTH HOMELESSNESS SECTOR In fo
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“Requirements to access help some
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“Yeah, when I first moved in [to
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PREVENTING YOUTH HOMELESSNESS IN TH
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While the recommendations below can
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2.5 CRIMINAL JUSTICE A common conce
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PREVENTING YOUTH HOMELESSNESS IN TH
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MOVING FORWARD Canadian research sh
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WHAT WOULD IT TAKE? 3. PREVENTING I
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ADDRESSING FAMILY CONFLICT, ABUSE,
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“This is real. We did not choose
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Lack of services and supports also
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MOVING FORWARD Youth across the cou
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ADDRESSING SOCIAL EXCLUSION & ISOLA
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“I’m just trying to say that, i
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ADDRESSING VIOLENCE IN THE COMMUNIT
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YOUTH’S MESSAGES TO ALL LEVELS OF
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We need to dramatically shift our a
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RECOMMENDATIONS 1 GOVERNMENT OF CAN
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5. Align ministerial, departmental,
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2. Embed youth homelessness prevent
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INTEGRATED GOVERNMENT SUPPORTS 1. W
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3. Require that all school boards a
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5. Offer comprehensive, youth-focus
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8. Systematically investigate and e
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Provincial/Territorial Ministries R
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6. Seek to provide highly integrate
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3. Foster meaningful youth engageme
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Gaetz, S., O’Grady, B., Kidd, S.,
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Statistics Canada. (2011). National
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COH-AWH-What_Would_it_Take

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