Presentation given by Melanie Redman, National Learning Community on Youth Homelessness and Stephen Gaetz, Canadian Observatory on Homelessness, Canada, at the 2015 FEANTSA Policy Conference, "Homelessness, A Local Phenomenon with a European Dimension: Key Steps to Connect Communities to Europe", Paris City Hall, 19 June 2015
Building links for the prevention of Youth Homelessness
1. Melanie Redman
National Learning Community on Youth Homelessness
Stephen Gaetz
Canadian Observatory on Homelessness
June 20, 2015
Youth
Homelessness
Building links for the prevention of
3. • Youth Homelessness on agenda of decision makers
• Youth Homelessness on public agenda
• Working to align interested funders with our national
vision to Prevent, Reduce & End youth homelessness
OUR GOAL:
Cultivating a national coalition of stakeholders
across sectors to mobilize for systems
alignment/integration & policy change
5. Shifting Context
Conceptual shift taking hold, moving from ‘managing’
homelessness, to “preventing, reducing and ending
homelessness”
Increasing collaboration by national partners in supporting
those processes
Enhanced community readiness
Research: Greater knowledge about solutions and effective
interventions
Demonstrated successes in government and community
planning
1
2
3
4
5
7. Key point: Youth homelessness is
distinct from adult homelessness
8. How are youth different from the
adult homelessness population?
• Age Matters
• Many in throws of adolescent development
• Lack experience living independently
• Leaving situation of dependency and adult
support
11. When we let young people
become homeless …
• Health worsens
• Mental health declines
• Exploitation
• Greater risk of addictions
• Involvement with the law
• Dropping out of school
• Trauma and criminal victimization
• Entrenchment in live on the
• streets
12. If the
CAUSES & CONDITIONS
of youth homelessness are
unique, so must be the
SOLUTIONS!!!
28. Not simply school programs, rather,
community-based services and
supports IN schools
• Students learning about homelessness
• Professional development for teachers
• Students, teachers and families learning about supports
Learning:
Interventions:
• Identifying young people “at risk” or who are homeless
• Helping young people and families access appropriate
services and supports for young people and families
• Community based case management
37. 2 communities/year, competitive process, pan-Canadian
– Year 1 – Kamloops, BC
Kingston, ON
– Year 2 – Saint John, NB
County of Wellington, ON
– Year 3 – Yellowknife, NWT
Brandon, MB
builds on the work of the
Mobilizing Local Capacity
project
38. What are community plans?
Supporting Healthy and
Successful Transitions to
Adulthood
A Plan to Prevent and
Reduce Youth
Homelessness
in Alberta
40. Essentials for a Plan to End Youth Homelessness
1 Communities adopt strategic and coordinated plans.
2 Create an integrated systems response/System of Care
3 Engagement by all levels of government
4 Adopt a youth development orientation
5 Incorporate research, data management and information sharing
6 Integrated Prevention Framework
7 Emergency Services: Retool the System
8 Age appropriate Models of Accommodation and Support
43. Throughout the Plan, you must consider
the specific needs and issues facing:
• LGBTQ youth
• Immigrant youth
• Youth with mental
health and/or
addictions barriers
• Racialized Youth
Considerations for planning
46. Planning Support
Youth Homelessness
Community Planning Institute
The key goals of the Institute are to:
• Build community planning capacity
• Increase knowledge regarding effective planning and program
models
• Enhance local collaboration through Collective Impact
• Create a alignment with government
policy and programming
51. Planning resources
Community, Provincial and State Plans
Youth Homelessness Prevention Framework
Youth Homelessness Community Planning Framework
Housing First for Youth Framework
Toolkits
Youth Point in Time Count Toolkit
Youth Engagement Toolkit
LGBTQ Toolkit
Program Model Toolkits
Common Assessment Tool
Resources
1. Collaboration: Provide opportunities for collaboration among the diversity of groups and researchers involved in homelessness across Canada.
2. Knowledge Mobilization: Make existing research on homelessness more accessible and reduce the geographical, sectoral, and socio-economic divisions that impede knowledge exchange.
3. Public Engagement: ‘Make research matter’ by exploring ways that research can more effectively engage the general public, policy makers and other decision-makers in the homelessness sector.
1. Collaboration: Provide opportunities for collaboration among the diversity of groups and researchers involved in homelessness across Canada.
2. Knowledge Mobilization: Make existing research on homelessness more accessible and reduce the geographical, sectoral, and socio-economic divisions that impede knowledge exchange.
3. Public Engagement: ‘Make research matter’ by exploring ways that research can more effectively engage the general public, policy makers and other decision-makers in the homelessness sector.
1. Collaboration: Provide opportunities for collaboration among the diversity of groups and researchers involved in homelessness across Canada.
2. Knowledge Mobilization: Make existing research on homelessness more accessible and reduce the geographical, sectoral, and socio-economic divisions that impede knowledge exchange.
3. Public Engagement: ‘Make research matter’ by exploring ways that research can more effectively engage the general public, policy makers and other decision-makers in the homelessness sector.
1. Collaboration: Provide opportunities for collaboration among the diversity of groups and researchers involved in homelessness across Canada.
2. Knowledge Mobilization: Make existing research on homelessness more accessible and reduce the geographical, sectoral, and socio-economic divisions that impede knowledge exchange.
3. Public Engagement: ‘Make research matter’ by exploring ways that research can more effectively engage the general public, policy makers and other decision-makers in the homelessness sector.
1. Collaboration: Provide opportunities for collaboration among the diversity of groups and researchers involved in homelessness across Canada.
2. Knowledge Mobilization: Make existing research on homelessness more accessible and reduce the geographical, sectoral, and socio-economic divisions that impede knowledge exchange.
3. Public Engagement: ‘Make research matter’ by exploring ways that research can more effectively engage the general public, policy makers and other decision-makers in the homelessness sector.