Housing First is a treatment, service and social policy approach based on the idea that a homeless individual’s primary need is to attain secure and stable housing before other issues in the individual’s life can be dealt with. Its fundamental principle is that housing is a basic right, and should be made available regardless of whether individuals, particularly those with mental health concerns and/or addictions, desire treatment. Despite the fact that youth experiencing homelessness have unique needs, few Canadian studies have investigated the Housing First approach with youth, leaving policy and decision makers without much information on promising solutions to homelessness for this population.
Gaetz, S., O’Grady, B., Buccieri, K., Karabanow, J., & Marsolais, A. (Eds.), Youth Homelessness in Canada: Implications for Policy and Practice. Toronto: Canadian Homelessness Research Network Press.