The popular image of a homeless kid tends to be an urban one: a teen huddled in a doorway in some warehouse district or hustling on a downtown street corner. They could be from the city, or maybe they’ve come to the big city from the suburbs, or the country. It’s the subject of a hundred films and a thousand books. But the United Way and the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness know that’s not the whole story. There are homeless youth in the suburbs, as well, and they are trying to do something about it.
So on Oct. 4, they sponsored a talk both to call attention to the issue, and to discuss some of the ways it can be addressed. Phil Brown, a resident of Markham and member of the newly struck Community Advisory Board Renewal Group, Janice Chu, director of community Investment for the United Way York Region, Anne Stubley, executive director of Blue Door Shelters, Jane Wedlock, Community Engagement and Research Manager of United Way York Region, also representing the Youth Homelessness Research Advisory Committee and Judy Hayes, a resident of Richmond Hill, discussed the most pressing issues related to this sometimes under-discussed problem.
“The factors that contribute to youth homelessness are generally the same,” Wedlock tells Yonge Street Media. ”They relate to family issues, but also and importantly structural factors (inadequate income, lack of affordable housing, struggles with education) and institutional and system factors related to systems of care (child protection, health, mental health care, corrections).
"Historically, as in most other Canadian jurisdictions, our response has primarily focused on supporting young people who are in crises with emergency shelter (where possible) as well as a variety of other supports, help finding housing, education and employment – but less coordinated efforts on prevention and also ensuring appropriate accommodation and supports across the region for young people if they need to live independently of family.”
Youth homelessness in urban centres is well understood and organizations combatting it well funded. But for the suburban homeless, the lower profile as well as the differences inherent in the realities of suburban life, can cause problems unknown downtown.
“Youth in York Region face particular challenges due to the vast geography of the region and limited social infrastructure,” Wedlock says. “We have two emergency shelters that are currently in the north (York Region Youth Shelter Newmarket – 10 beds for male youth, and Salvation Army Sutton Youth Shelter with 16 emergency shelter beds and 10 transitional beds where young people can stay for up to one year). There are currently no emergency shelter beds in southern York Region. However, that will change when the Community Hub currently under construction by the Regional Municipality of York in partnership with the Town of Richmond Hill and 360-kids, slated to open in 2016. The hub will provide drop-in services, emergency and transitional housing, and a variety of other supports.”
Though Wedlock says a number of homeless kids from suburban and rural areas are drawn to urban centres, she says the escalation or exacerbation of certain sorts of problems can be avoided if more attention is paid to where the kids come from.
“It is critically important to be able to keep young people in the communities where they have social supports, are connected to family, friends and school – to help them maintain some stability in what may be a very difficult time,” Wedlock says. “The new Community Hub in Richmond Hill will be an important centre of support for young people that will expand services currently available and critically needed in southern York Region.”
Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Jane Wedlock