Melanie RedmanNational Learning Community on Youth Homelessness

Stephen Gaetz Canadian Observatory on Homelessness June 20, 2015

Youth Homelessness

Building links for the prevention of

Part 1What IS

• 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

Key National Partners

Shifting ContextConceptual 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

Why we need to do this…

Part 2

Key point: Youth homelessness is distinct from adult homelessness

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

Loss

When we let young people become homeless …

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

If the

CAUSES & CONDITIONS

of youth homelessness are unique, so must be the SOLUTIONS!!!

Part 3Responding toYOUTH HOMELESSNESS

PreventionHousing

and Supports

Emergency Response

Responding to homelessnessCan we move from this?To this?

PreventionHousing

and

Supports

Emergency Response

things you need to do

Shift the focus to

Prevention! 1

A Framework for

Thinking About Prevention

TertiaryPrevention

PrimaryPrevention

TertiaryPrevention

SecondaryPrevention

Working upstream to prevent new cases

Primary Prevention1

Working in Schools

Family First approach

Helping young people exiting care (child protection)

Early intervention strategies to support young people and their families

SecondaryPrevention 2

Early interventions

Stopping homelessnessfrom happeningagain!

TertiaryPrevention3

Access to education

Training and employment

Mental health and addictions support

Family matters 2

… so focus on it

Unfortunately, family is often framed as a problem and as part of a young person’s past.

Solutions must involve schools

3

What exactly is school-based homelessness prevention?

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

Why do SCHOOLS matter?

Australia is the leader in school-based youth homelessness prevention

Age appropriate models of

Accommodation and supports

Transitional Housing Housing First

4

www.homelesshub.ca

Youth need different Housing Options

Systems Integration

Homelessness Service Providers

Service Integration

MainstreamServices• Health• Education• Corrections• Child

protection

Unusual Suspects• Landlords• Police• Private

Sector

Government and Funders

5

Part 4The role of

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

What are community plans?

Supporting Healthy and Successful Transitions to

AdulthoodA Plan to Prevent and

Reduce Youth Homelessness

in Alberta

Planning Support

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

A significant Change Management

process

Considerations for planning

The importance of nurturing

Considerations for planning

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

Collective Impact

Considerations for planning

Collective Impact

Planning SupportYouth Homelessness

Community Planning InstituteThe 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

Implementation Support

• Sustainability planning

• Communications strategy

• Change management

• Funder alignment

• Evaluation

HELP!?! Technical Support

Effective Program Models

Aligning efforts

Community planning and programs

Ensuring that government policy, programing and funding supports community efforts

Planning resourcesCommunity, Provincial and State PlansYouth Homelessness Prevention FrameworkYouth Homelessness Community Planning FrameworkHousing First for Youth Framework

ToolkitsYouth Point in Time Count ToolkitYouth Engagement ToolkitLGBTQ ToolkitProgram Model ToolkitsCommon Assessment Tool

Resources

Questions or Comments?