The homelessness crisis in Ontario has reached alarming levels, and the latest report by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) paints a stark picture. Over the past decade, we’ve seen a troubling rise in chronic homelessness—individuals experiencing prolonged or repeated episodes of homelessness. The report signals that the already severe housing challenges are escalating further.
Based on data collected from 47 municipal service managers across Ontario, AMO’s report reveals a staggering 81,515 people are currently experiencing homelessness, whether sheltered or unsheltered, a 25% increase since 2022. Chronic homelessness—marked by prolonged or repeated episodes—has tripled and now accounts for over half of all cases. The report warns that without urgent action, we are on a path that could lead to further increases in homelessness and significant strain on our social services.
What’s particularly heartbreaking is the impact on children and youth. Nearly one in four people experiencing chronic homelessness are under the age of 24. Of these, children aged 0–15 account for 12%, while youth aged 16–24 make up another 11%. This is especially worrying, as individuals who experience homelessness for the first time as children are more likely to experience chronic homelessness later in life. In fact, the results of the 2020-2022 Nationally Coordinated Point-in-Time (PiT) Counts reveal that 78% of those who experienced homelessness for the first time as a child were experiencing chronic homelessness on the night of the PiT Count.
It’s not just Ontario that grapples with this issue – the youth homelessness crisis extends across North America. The 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development echoes similar trends. In the United States, approximately 771,480 people – about 23 in every 10,000 – experienced homelessness. That’s an 18.1% increase from 2023 and a 32.9% increase from pre-pandemic levels in 2020. Among this group, 26.7% are under the age of 24, with children under 18 experiencing the largest increase in homelessness at a staggering 33% increase since 2023.
Our reactive, emergency responses to homelessness are failing
The evidence is clear: our current system for addressing homelessness is falling short. On the surface, it suggests that the system is not functioning as it should, underscoring the increasing severity of the homelessness crisis, which is being driven by a combination of factors: a persistent shortage of affordable housing, rising inflation, discrimination, and inadequate social safety nets. These issues disproportionately impact marginalized youth, particularly racialized, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQ+ youth, and Black youth, putting them at greater risk.
Let’s highlight some vital points. While AMO’s report on homelessness prevention and diversion programs remained widely accessible—with 91% of service managers reporting their availability in 2021, rising to 96% by 2024—there seems to be uncertainty around what effective homelessness prevention policies and practices are. Preventing youth homelessness first requires conceptual clarity about what prevention means. We need to shift how systems operate and how people think about and approach homelessness prevention. Real change requires us to rethink policies, funding structures, and the very systems we rely on to create a foundation for prevention.
AMO’s report presents two scenarios, suggesting investments in prevention programs to reduce the inflow into homelessness, ranging from $17.5 million over 10 years to $52.5 million over 8 years. However, it seems that “prevention” is used as a catch-all term that lumps together various interventions—from supportive housing to shelter diversion. While there is growing recognition that focusing on preventing homelessness—rather than addressing it after it occurs—is essential for achieving a long-term solution, the lack of a unified understanding complicates our ability to coordinate efforts, measure success, and ensure that prevention initiatives are both comprehensive and effective.
This lack of clarity presents real challenges. First, policymakers may struggle to define or implement effective prevention strategies. Second, service providers and organizations may not have a unified framework or approach to guide their work. Third, well-intentioned, seemingly preventive interventions may backfire and fail to achieve the desired results.
What is youth homelessness prevention?
Preventing youth homelessness requires a strong focus on health and well-being throughout a young person’s life. Simply providing housing is not sufficient. It is essential to work towards keeping families and communities together and ensuring that all young people have meaningful and supportive adults—both relatives and non-relatives—in their lives to help them transition to adulthood.
Additionally, prevention policies and practices should provide support for youth who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. This support should include individualized, choice-based services and resources that empower youth to sustain their housing, stay in school, secure employment, and maintain healthy relationships with friends and family.
About Youth Homelessness PreventionShifting local governments’ priorities toward prevention
Addressing youth homelessness requires moving away from merely reacting to crises with emergency services and instead investing in prevention and early intervention strategies.
Youth who have lived experience have emphasized the need for a transformation of public systems. They highlight the importance of timely support for those at risk of homelessness, underscoring a vital shift towards a rights-based approach. This means fostering collaboration across multiple sectors and igniting systems-wide change that can tackle the root causes of homelessness.
Prevention-focused interventions are also low-cost, low-barrier options for municipalities. With the rising costs of managing encampments across Ontario, providing 24/7 support is beyond the capacity of municipalities. Instead of stretching resources thin on costly emergency measures, funding should be redirected toward upstream solutions that prevent homelessness before it starts. Programs such as Family and Natural Supports can play a crucial role here, either as a standalone program, a guiding philosophy, or as part of a broader intervention like Housing First for Youth.
Importantly, these approaches must be culturally relevant and focused on housing stabilization through a combination of financial assistance, access to affordable housing, case management, and connections to community resources, all designed to build resilience and promote sustained self-sufficiency for families and youth at risk of homelessness.