Child and youth advocate calls for better data collection by Province with newly released report

“To be critically blunt, if we could get that first, it would make a difference, and if we could resource that and get young people off the street and into homes. If they have a home and feel connected to somebody, they’ll do better.”

“If all they’re doing is surviving and trying to think about where they’re going to sleep tonight, and if they’re going to be able to eat, they’re not able to go to school…they’re not able to work…they’re not able to think about their futures.”

Calling it a sad trajectory, Pelton believes the end result could see more individuals involved with either the youth or adult justice systems.

Through community and online engagement, A Place to Belong: A Special Report on Youth Homelessness in Alberta heard from 156 young people from ages 12 to 24, and 170 stakeholders in Calgary, Edmonton, Edson, Grande Prairie, Fort McMurray, Lethbridge, Little Red River Cree Nation, Piikani Nation, Red Deer, Vulcan, and Wetaskiwin.

While the report’s findings weren’t able to include detailed figures, other than the input it received from participants and stakeholders, Pelton was able to elaborate from personal experience.

“We have seen, in our office, an increase in the number of young people who are contacting us for individual advocacy for help,” the child and youth advocate shared.

“We’ve also seen an increase in the number of young people we’ve done a serious injury or death review on, where they didn’t have a place to stay for a period of time.”

Pelton adds that can include couch surfing, staying in a child welfare office overnight, like a crisis unit, or not getting discharged from a hospital or young offenders centre because they have no place to go.

“We’ve also heard instances of people staying in tents either with family or friends. I know of a gentleman who’s been sleeping in stairwells for a while. And, just walking down the street (in Edmonton, where Pelton lives), I’ve seen young people begging on street corners or asking for help, in some way.”

However, while this particular study focused on some of Alberta’s larger cities, Pelton is quick to point out that youth homelessness is not confined to just the big city.

The report included four recommendations:

1. The Ministry of Children and Family Services and the Ministry of Mental Health and Addiction should collaborate to develop a provincial youth-specific homelessness strategy designed to prevent, reduce, and end youth homelessness that includes increased data collection and public reporting.

2. The Ministry of Children and Family Services, the Ministry of Mental Health and Addiction, and the Ministry of Arts, Culture, and Status of Women should publicly report on their efforts to collaborate and coordinate to help prevent youth homelessness. This should include how they are ensuring a robust continuum of universal and targeted prevention, early intervention, and intensive supports for families.

3. The Ministry of Children and Family Services should align the housing supports currently provided under the Transition to Adulthood Program (TAP) with the housing pillar from the Equitable Standards for Transitions to Adulthood for Youth in Care.

4. The Ministry of Children and Family Services should increase the capacity within youth shelters to provide specialized support that helps young people build and maintain healthy relationships with their family and natural supports.

On Wednesday afternoon, the opposition New Democrats, in a statement, said the government needs to act on the report’s recommendations.

“According to the Advocate, more youth are becoming homeless, and they are not getting the help they need at shelters to stay off the streets. The UCP needs to start living up to its responsibilities, and the Alberta NDP is calling on the government to immediately implement all the recommendations in this report.”

“This includes developing a long-overdue strategy to keep young Albertans off the streets, public reporting, and increasing capacity in shelters while ensuring youth have the support they need to develop and maintain positive relationships with family.”

A copy of the 40-page report can be found here.

by Dave Lueneberg

Child and youth advocate calls for better data collection by Province with newly released report

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