10. Promoting Health for Homeless and Street-involved Youth: Use and Views of Services of Street-involved Youth in Calgary

Drawing on results from the Calgary Youth, Health and the Street Study, this chapter describes the use of street and health services by youth with different levels of street involvement, and also describes the views of youth on those services. The Youth, Health and the Street Study was a community-based research study (including 355 pencil-and-paper surveys and qualitative interviews with 42 street-involved youth) conducted to help services better respond to the needs of street-involved youth. Study results are used to show that youth's use of services varies by level of street involvement, and that there is a need to establish a continuum of services to meet the diverse needs of street-involved youth. Services also need to be multifaceted, and address the physical needs (food, clothing, shelter) of young people involved in street-life, as well as needs related to their physical and mental health, education and employment.

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Editor(s): 
Gaetz, Stephen
O’Grady, Bill
Buccieri, Kristy
Karabanow, Jeff
Marsolais, Allyson
Publication Date: 
2013
Publisher(s): 
Canadian Observatory On Homelessness