COH-AWH-What_Would_it_Take

MOVING FORWARD
The solutions proposed by youth emphasize something we have known for a long time: we
cannot prevent youth homelessness without significantly increasing the affordability and
availability of housing for all Canadians. However, prevention requires more than this. Youth
across Canada are pleading that we act now to remove the administrative and bureaucratic
barriers to accessing public housing – policies, requirements, and criteria that condemn youth
and their families to poverty and homelessness until they are considered to be sufficiently “in
need” to deserve housing. Our current approach to addressing housing need is so poor that
one Calgary youth explained, “Education is hard to get because housing is hard to get. What’s
easy is being a prostitute and selling drugs.”
As we think about youth homelessness prevention in Canada, we must build a housing system
that makes it easier, not harder, for youth to remain safe and engaged in school or employment.
This means ensuring we provide housing to youth before they lose their housing, rather than
wait until they are homeless and on the street. As we seek to offer a safe, affordable, and
appropriate housing system for youth and their families, it is essential that the housing models
we use for youth are specific to their unique needs and desires, founded on principles of youth
voice, youth choice, and self-determination. A range of housing options is outlined in THIS is
Housing First for Youth: A Program Model Guide.
“To access BC housing or any
youth rent subsidies, you have
to be homeless for a minimum
of six months before they’ll
even look at you. Six months
is a long time. And there’s
no need for any youth to go
through that just to get a
house. Cause some of them
can make it through that time
period, but some can’t.”
VANCOUVER YOUTH
“Well, my mom was homeless – on
the verge of being homeless back in
November… We called [friend] afterward
because we didn’t know what to do … And
[friend] said that you’re going to have to lie
and say that you’re on some kind of hard
drug to get anywhere. And to me, that was
disgusting. How at risk does somebody
– whether they’re disabled, a Person of
Colour, anything – how at risk do they have
to be to qualify for assistance?”
EDMONTON YOUTH
WHAT WOULD IT TAKE? 49