26. Policy Challenges to Homelessness Among Caribbean Youth in Toronto

The primary goal of this research project is to identify patterns related to homelessness among Caribbean youth between the ages of 15 and 25, and to advance policy proposals that would alter these pathways. This chapter examines the research literature on homelessness in Canada generally, and on youth homelessness specifically, in order to learn about the racialized dimensions of youth homelessness in Canada. The term “racialization” is used here to describe the discriminatory treatment of homeless Caribbean youth based on race. We also add a more focused examination of racialized immigrant groups arriving after 2000 and ask whether young people in this category share particular characteristics that make their route to homelessness distinct. The chapter builds on the current state of knowledge regarding the evolution of the homelessness crisis in Canada and the suggested policy proposals designed to address homelessness on a national or local scale.

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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