In our last blog, we discussed findings from the Duty to Assist exploratory event held in October 2024, that related to ‘Pathways into Homelessness’. This event, led by young adult lived-experts, brought over 80 service providers together to discuss what legislative changes and statutory reform might mean to our community as it relates to stopping youth from ever experiencing homelessness.
This is the second blog in a series of posts discussing findings related to homelessness prevention and intervention.
What would homelessness prevention and/or intervention look like?
During the second breakout session, participants were asked to discuss the following question: What steps can we take towards prevention and intervention efforts for youth homelessness? The overarching findings are consistently grounded in a framework of accountability. Participant responses strongly advocated changes in systems, that promote holistic wellbeing where “someone does not need to be homeless to get support”. Waiting until someone is in crisis is not a viable option for making systemic change; furthermore, it does not allow for an upstream prevention-based approach.
As identified by participants, youth homelessness models of prevention and intervention were connected by these 5 overarching themes:
- Systems of accountability that promote continuity of care.
- Sustainably supported social services and resources across places and spaces.
- Interdependent rather than ‘independent’ living models that promote life skills.
- Mediation and advocacy services that are grounded in upholding the rights of young adults.
- Mentors and community connections that uphold a sense of belonging.
1. Accountability
There is a critical need for accountability across all systems and levels of governments. We all have a ‘duty to assist’ and work to prevent youth homelessness from occurring. This type of framework emphasizes a readiness-based approach over an age-based framework. For instance, youth turning 18 and aging out of CFS care shouldn’t be sent out on their own, rather, their needs would be assessed, and an interdependent living model would be adopted. As this work is being done, each system – education, justice, CFS and child welfare, healthcare, landlords etc., would need to be accountable for their impact and support workers would need to be trained and kept up to date. There needs to be an emphasis on all levels of government being accountable to this upstream approach.
2. Services and Resources
Support services and resources (that include financial, mental health, and medical) that are easier for individuals to navigate and access what they need, when they need it, are required. Participants call for the creation of spaces with co-located resources that allow for more team and peer-based involvement. Schools are already a hub for youth, and participants indicate needing to see more resources brought into such environments where the youth already are, and to help them feel safe and connected while there.
Youth and education professionals have expressed a need for the schools to act not only as a hub for learning, but as a hub for community that allows students to feel welcomed, even when they are not able to fully attend classes (rather than punitive measures for absences that only result in alienation from the school and can jeopardize their stability).
Currently, there are challenges to accessing file information across multiple systems, due to privacy regulations. While the protection of people’s privacy is important, participants noted that it is necessary to review such regulations with consideration of how sharing information might support individuals in accessing resources. Participants called for the safe dismantling of barriers around privacy of information.
3. Interdependent vs. Independent Living
A multi-system, collaborative approach is needed to enhance skills that uphold ‘interdependent living’, including teaching cooking, cleaning, bill management, taxes, and other life skills. Participants noted that an assisted living model for all ages, and spaces designed by youth for youth with appropriate programming and resources, would help youth feel supported, versus living in isolation from community and having to ‘figure it out’ for themselves.
One example provided is that currently many group homes and youth shelters either expect participation in chores without teaching the youth how and/or assuming a basic knowledge exists that many have never been taught.
Another example is youth who are not involved in housekeeping duties and are unable to take care of themselves when they move out with roommates or on their own, which can even result in losing their housing.
4. Mediation and Advocacy
Anti-discriminatory polices and processes that support youth in obtaining housing, including mediation services, improved advocacy efforts by the Residential Tenancies Branch that can prevent displacement and changes to existing regulations that require guarantor signatures are needed. Participants want to see timely access to housing; the more barriers that are removed from youth accessing and securing housing means more stability. This is an often-overlooked area of the housing process that can be insurmountable without the support of an adult who has already navigated the rental system.
Further, youth obtaining their first place on their own are frequently discriminated against for their age, seen as untrustworthy tenants or blocked from renting without a guarantor, cosigner or previous rental history which they may not have access to.
5. Mentorship and Community Belonging
Increased mentorship supports, specifically peer-to-peer relationships, and cultural mentors, that promote building trust within systems is an important requirement. This also includes fostering a supportive community to reduce isolation and foster a sense of belonging. This could include, for example, support workers with lived experience and trauma–informed perspectives; providing accessible, specialized services for 2SLGBTQIA+ youth; access to Elders or Indigenous community members within foster homes and schools, as well as members from other cultural communities where possible that reflect the diverse community we have here in Winnipeg who can provide support.
Building connections and relationships helps develop trust, self-esteem and a foundation for youth to fall back on and launch their own journeys from a safe starting point. This is a central focus of the relational worldview of the BOL theory – “community actualization” is inextricably linked with a sense of community, belonging, love and relationship building.
Who Should Be Involved?
Ultimately, all human beings need a connection with community. Youth need to have a place where they feel a sense of belonging and love as this can lead to some of the biggest positive impacts in their individual story, as well as great change on a community level.
Who should be involved? Very simply, everyone should be part of youth homelessness prevention.
“People get used to or (are) sensitized to visible homelessness. If it no longer shocks people, then they won’t act. You want concern and care, but also a shock. A 16-year-old person homeless on the street should trigger concern and action”.
Participants further emphasized that the role of lived-experts, Indigenous Elders, Knowledge Keepers, leaders, and educators are particularly important in supporting youth and their families early on.
They also highlighted the importance of trusting relationships between education staff in creating preventive measures. Participants further emphasized that policymakers that represent ‘systems as a whole’, who have the ‘power’ to influence policy change, should be listening to lived-experts and ground policy-decision making from a lens of reconciliation.
Looking Ahead
In the first blog, findings indicate that pathways into homelessness are strongly rooted in trauma caused by colonization. This blog reviews findings that indicate that current homelessness prevention and intervention models lack a holistic application of healing thus resulting in people being cycled in and out of multiple systems. The next blog post in this series focuses on what improvements could be made to policies, processes, regulations and legislation, to prevent inter-generational experiences of homelessness.