Youth among 'hidden homeless'
SideDoor spokesperson says young people less visible among those without homes
Kirsten Fenn
Northern News Services
Friday, December 2, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A first-of-its-kind national survey on youth homelessness released earlier this month shines a light on an overlooked demographic in the North, say advocates.
"Without a Home: The National Youth Homeless Survey" shows youth ages 13 to 24 account for 20 per cent of homeless people across Canada, with males, LGBTQ, indigenous youth and members of racialized communities being predominantly impacted.
"Most people refer to Yellowknife as a place where there is no youth homelessness, because you won't see them hanging out at the post office," SideDoor Youth Ministries executive director Iris Hamlyn said. "But youth are among the hidden homeless."
SideDoor caters to youth between the ages of 15 and 24 who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Although the organization has helped a few youth as young as 13 and 14 in the past, Hamlyn said the majority of people who access SideDoor's programs are between 18 and 21-years old.
The organization offers emergency shelter and transitional housing at Hope's Haven on 52 Street and a youth resource centre on 50 Street.
Eighty-five per cent of the youth SideDoor work with are currently in or have aged out of foster care, Hamlyn said, adding transitioning out of that system without proper support is a huge driver of homelessness, and part of the reason the organization expanded its age restrictions from 16- to 19-year-olds to those between 15 and 24 over the last year.
The national survey states 40.1 per cent of the 1,103 homeless youth interviewed were out on the streets before they were 16-years old while 57.8 per cent had been involved with child protection services. More than 60 per cent experienced trauma and childhood abuse. LGBTQ and indigenous youth were the most likely to experience multiple bouts of homelessness - findings Hamlyn said are common in Yellowknife.
"Prior to opening Hope's Haven, we would find the majority of our youth to be indigenous youth," Hamlyn said. "And that's still the case."
The organization also sees a number of LGBTQ clients who have left home because they feel unwelcome there. With the opening of Hope's Haven last year, the organization is now able to provide individual housing options for LGBTQ youth who need support, including those who are transitioning to another gender.
The National Youth Homelessness Survey states 29.5 per cent of homeless youth surveyed identified as LGBTQ, while 30.6 per cent were indigenous.
Jacq Brasseur, programming co-ordinator and administrator of Rainbow Coalition, said it can be harder for LGBTQ youth to access social supports, which tends to lead to higher rates of homelessness.
"Youth who are homeless deal with an intersection of marginalization," said Brasseur. "Unfortunately, that ends of up resulting in lack of quality and safe housing for LGBTQ youth."
The Rainbow Coalition offers programming to address issues intertwined with homelessness, such as addictions and mental health.
The organization works closely with SideDoor to ensure its policies are inclusive of LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness, Brasseur said.
Hamlyn said a preventative approach to youth homelessness is key to addressing the issue - a sentiment echoed in the national survey. It outlines a number of solutions that would help youth, including Housing First initiatives, family supports, early intervention, school-community partnerships and support for youth moving out of the foster care system.
Mayor Mark Heyck said youth are one of three priorities for the city's Community Advisory Board (CAB) on Homelessness and that the city has worked to support youth through funding for Hope's Haven.
"That's a really key service that the SideDoor is providing and that the CAB is very pleased to have entered into a funding agreement with," Heyck said.
While it doesn't specifically zero in on youth homelessness, the Yellowknife Road Map Action Plan on Homelessness released by the city in October points to a need for an inter-agency committee on homelessness and more collaboration between front-line agencies. That along with improved family supports across the NWT could help close gaps in services for homeless youth, Heyck said, because many agencies are geared toward adults.
Hamlyn said the National Youth Homelessness Survey provides important data that organizations like hers aren't able to compile on their own, and that reflect the experience of youth in Yellowknife.
"If you don't see a problem, you don't think there's one," Hamlyn said. "This was really important to be able to put some numbers and pieces together."
