Working upstream to prevent homelessness requires more coordinated efforts across sectors, from government to non-profit to private, to align strategies and resources and create a complete working system where no one falls through the cracks.
In Canada, schools hold a unique place as the only public institutions where young people must attend until they turn 16. This highlights how essential schools are for providing support and intervention, connecting youth with the resources they might need. In fact, many young people who have experienced homelessness share this viewpoint, expressing that school would have been the perfect place for a trusted adult to step in and help prevent their homelessness.
This idea forms the basis of the Upstream Canada program model. Adapted from Upstream Australia’s Community of Schools and Services (COSS) Model and co-led by the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness and A Way Home Canada’s Making the Shift Youth Homelessness Social Innovation Lab, Upstream Canada is a school-based early intervention model that aims to prevent youth homelessness and school disengagement before they begin.
The Upstream Canada program depends on a collaborative, systems-based approach that includes schools, community agencies, Indigenous organizations, and families. This kind of cross-sector partnership is essential for addressing complex youth needs and is grounded in the research literature on effective systems transformation.
It takes a village – with Upstream Canada, we’ve finally built one
In Kelowna, BC and St. John’s, NL, where Upstream Canada has been implemented since 2021 and 2023, respectively, schools have evolved from simply being education providers to becoming key partners in prevention. This shift has been driven in part by Upstream Canada’s ability to change attitudes and perceptions among educators and school staff.
“Sometimes, when people first hear about Upstream, they are resistant to it because they think it will be yet another work-added initiative. When they find out more, they realize it will actually help because there’s finally a straightforward process in place to connect struggling, at-risk students with the supports they need… It lifts some burden off of teachers because then they don’t need to worry about how they can help ‘Johnny’ who is clearly having problems at home and is struggling to stay awake in class. Maybe even students who are in trouble but not showing signs until it becomes a much bigger problem.” — School board champion for Upstream Canada
While Upstream Canada’s strength lies in its ability to connect systems that have historically operated in isolation, in practice, it works by Upstream staff providing personalized supports and building trusting relationships with the youth they serve.
“I met with a youth who was painted as violent and needed to be double-staffed. When I showed up, it was just a young person, just a teenager, who needed a little bit of extra support. As a result of the relationships that we’ve built, we no longer have to double-staff our youth. We’ve built trusting, solid relationships, where young people are actually open to receiving the support, and they’re engaged, and they trust us, and that’s what matters most. Other professionals are not getting that side of the youth that we are.”— Leslie, Upstream NL
Data tells the story: Upstream Canada works!
New data from Upstream Kelowna confirmed that 14% of all participating students identified as at risk were connected to critical support services, likely helping to steer them away from paths towards school disengagement and homelessness. Between 2021 and 2024, 155 students used Upstream Kelowna supports and were diverted from emergency services.
These results are not isolated. Upstream Australia researchers have documented a 40% reduction in the number of youth ages 12-18 entering the local homelessness system and a 20% reduction in the number of youth leaving school early over the three years following implementation of the original model.
However, sustainability remains a challenge
Upstream Canada sites currently rely heavily on time-limited, philanthropic or project-based funding. Despite consistent results, long-term public investment has not yet followed.
According to our own cost analysis, the average cost per youth participant receiving Upstream support for a year is around $800. Investing in early intervention would reduce costly, long-term government expenditures across social assistance, health care, and justice systems. When youth are diverted from chronic homelessness, the societal return on investment is significant.
School-based early intervention is one of the most promising strategies for preventing homelessness before it begins. Ultimately, scaling Upstream Canada means investing not just in a model but in a mindset: that prevention is better, smarter, and more humane than reactive crisis response.