COH-AWH-What_Would_it_Take

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WHAT IS YOUTH HOMELESSNESS PREVENTION? We asked youth across Canada to share their perspectives on youth homelessness prevention. But what is youth homelessness prevention, and what isn’t it? While preventing homelessness is generally regarded as a good thing, we often have little clarity about what it actually means. To address this confusion, the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness released A New Direction: A Framework for Homelessness Prevention in 2017, defining homelessness prevention as: “Policies, practices, and interventions that reduce the likelihood that someone will experience homelessness. It also means providing those who have been homeless with the necessary resources and supports to stabilize their housing, enhance integration and social inclusion, and ultimately reduce the risk of the recurrence of homelessness.” This definition also clarifies what prevention is not. Preventing homelessness must involve keeping a person housed, as well as immediately providing housing to anyone experiencing homelessness. While emergency services often provide a range of supports that build resilience, skills, and reduce the most negative impacts of homelessness, interventions that do not directly (or even indirectly) prevent the occurrence or reoccurrence of homelessness cannot be considered prevention. Similarly, interventions such as life skills, addictions supports, or mental health services can only be considered prevention if they are provided in the context of immediate access to housing. We know that the causes and experiences of homelessness for youth are unique, calling for a distinct approach to youth homelessness prevention. This report helps us understand what youth homelessness prevention should look like from the real experts – young people themselves. WHAT WOULD IT TAKE? 6
YOUTH’S PERSPECTIVES ON PREVENTION Where should we focus our prevention efforts? Youth explained that they became homeless as a result of many intersecting factors, such as poverty, family conflict, difficulty transitioning from care, limited availability of services, and landlord discrimination. To best understand these complex factors, and how our prevention efforts can target each one, we use a social-ecological model. A social-ecological model positions youth homelessness as the outcome of a complex interplay between three domains: structural factors, systems failures, and individual and relational factors (Gaetz et al., 2013; Gaetz, 2014). STRUCTURAL FACTORS are broad systemic, economic, and societal issues that occur at a societal level that affect opportunities, social environments, and outcomes for individuals. SYSTEM FAILURES refer to situations in which inadequate policy and service delivery within and between systems contribute to the likelihood that someone will experience homelessness. These include barriers to accessing public systems, failed transitions from publicly funded institutions and systems, and silos and gaps both within and between government funded departments and systems, and also within non-profit sectors. INDIVIDUAL AND RELATIONAL FACTORS refer to the personal circumstances that place people at risk of homelessness. We can use this model to frame youth’s perspectives on prevention and where we should target our efforts. Youth explained that to effectively prevent youth homelessness, we must address all factors simultaneously. WHAT WOULD IT TAKE? 7
Page 1 and 2: WHAT WOULD IT TAKE? Youth Across Ca
Page 3 and 4: This research was made possible thr
Page 5: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Are we making sig
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 and 18: INTEGRATED GOVERNMENT SUPPORTS 1. W
Page 19 and 20: INTRODUCTION Youth homelessness in
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
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MOVING FORWARD While youth describe
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1.5 HARMFUL SOCIETAL BELIEFS & VALU
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“A lot of systems are still set u
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ADDRESSING ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERI
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WHAT WOULD IT TAKE? 2. SYSTEMS PREV
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2.1 EDUCATION For young people who
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2. Professional Training For the mo
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Investments • Provide significant
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“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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