COH-AWH-What_Would_it_Take

Systems change is difficult work. To effectively prevent youth homelessness across systems, an
integrated systems approach is needed in which multiple departments and ministries across all
levels of government work collectively towards the goal of better outcomes for all youth. This
requires expanding the role of systems like education or healthcare in homelessness prevention,
as well as re-defining who “owns” the issue of youth homelessness. Many systems have not seen
themselves as responsible for ensuring young people are housed, nor have they been provided
with the mandate, resources, or tools to do this work. However, it is clear that assigning sole
responsibility of this issue to the youth homelessness sector makes it very difficult to prevent
homelessness before it happens. Homelessness prevention thus must go hand-in-hand with the
tough work of redefining how systems and institutions work, and see themselves.
This work also means that we need to redefine our
approach at the ground level – system delivery.
A crucial finding of this study was the frequency with which youth’s experiences of violence,
discrimination, abuse, and neglect were ignored or discounted by the very people they thought
would help them: healthcare professionals, child welfare workers, social workers, teachers,
principals, and police officers. In many cases youth felt further marginalized, traumatized, and
isolated because of these interactions, and some felt they became homeless as a direct result
of professionals’ behaviours. These findings remind us that young people primarily engage with
systems through the professionals that work within them.
This means that while an integrated systems
approach is vital to this work, it must be
accompanied by changes in approach and
practice at the frontlines as well.
To make this happen, frontline system staff in multiple systems
must be provided with the necessary resources, training,
mentorship, and education to do this work. It is also essential that
professionals like nurses, teachers, and police officers begin to view
themselves as playing a decisive role in whether young people
become homeless or not.
“When you’re
trying to prevent
homelessness, or
when you’re trying
to change services,
you have to look
at social workers
themselves.”
CALGARY YOUTH
WHAT WOULD IT TAKE? 21