COH-AWH-What_Would_it_Take
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MOVING FORWARD<br />
According to young people across Canada, schools<br />
don’t see themselves as playing a role in youth<br />
homelessness prevention – but they should.<br />
“Almost everyone has, like, the<br />
one teacher that they really<br />
trusted and liked, or the one<br />
school counsellor that was<br />
cool and not scary. So <strong>it</strong> would<br />
be nice if just they got this<br />
basic training and also like,<br />
signs to look out for. And like,<br />
how to approach a student<br />
and be like, “hey, you know,<br />
how’s everything at home,<br />
everything going okay?”<br />
VANCOUVER YOUTH<br />
It is clear that there are few processes in schools to<br />
identify youth who are experiencing abuse, going<br />
hungry, or experiencing homelessness, and that<br />
often schools have few strategies or resources to<br />
address these issues. Young people argued that<br />
because school is the primary inst<strong>it</strong>ution in society<br />
that almost all young people interact w<strong>it</strong>h, <strong>it</strong><br />
should be a primary s<strong>it</strong>e to implement preventative<br />
programs, services, and supports. We know that<br />
in order to do so, the education system will need<br />
significant financial investments from provincial and<br />
terr<strong>it</strong>orial ministries, as well as a focus on system<br />
integration to best support young people in need.<br />
By investing in improved teacher training, mental<br />
health supports, homelessness screening programs,<br />
and curriculum change, we may be able to not only<br />
prevent homelessness for young people, but also<br />
keep youth engaged in school who otherwise might<br />
have dropped out or been expelled.<br />
WHAT WOULD IT TAKE? 72
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