TORONTO — A new York University report is calling for reform in the approach to dealing with youth homelessness and emphasizing the potential role family members can play in supporting youngsters in need.
The report said it’s estimated roughly 65,000 young people are homeless or living in homeless shelters throughout the country at one time or another during a given year.
Stephen Gaetz, associate dean of research and professional development in York’s faculty of education, used to work in the youth homelessness sector in the ’90s. He said the approach in Canada has remained much the same since — namely, the focus on provision of emergency services.
“The longer I’m involved in this issue, the more upset I am that we allow 15-, 16- and 17-year-olds to languish in emergency shelters rather than to provide them with better solutions and better options,” said Gaetz. He co-authored the report with Daphne Winland, an associate professor in York’s department of anthropology, and researcher Tara Patton.
Gaetz noted that other countries, such as Australia and the U.K., have evolved approaches focusing on prevention and moving individuals out of homelessness and into housing. He said while emergency services are needed, the real emphasis should be on preventing young people from becoming and remaining homeless.
Gaetz said research in Canada is pretty consistent in showing that between 60 and 70 per cent of young people come from households where they’ve experienced physical, sexual or emotional abuse. Yet even in situations where they’re leaving households where they may have been abused, it doesn’t mean their relationship with all family members has soured, he noted.
Even though family conflict is probably at the core of the majority of youth homelessness, it doesn’t mean that those relationships are irreconcilable, Gaetz said. In certain cases, there may not be a history of abuse but perhaps family conflict which can often be addressed. That means more intensive support is needed for both the youngster and their family.
“If there’s conflict parents may not know what to do. There may be anger management issues that need working on; there may be mediation. There may also just need to be a cooling-out period.”
The report profiles the Family Reconnect program run by Eva’s Initiatives, which operates three shelters in the Toronto area and works with homeless and at-risk youth aged 16-24 to get them off the streets permanently.
The program provides youngsters with support through various channels, including counselling, to help get them on track to potentially return home or move into the community, ideally with family support.
Between 2005 and 2010, the program helped 376 clients. Among them, 62 per cent of youth became more actively involved with family members and 14.5 per cent reconciled with a family member after repairing a damaged relationship.
After moving to Canada with her family from Asia about 10 years ago, Lisa said there was considerable culture clash with her parents who sought to cling to traditional beliefs. They were also dealing with poverty and struggling to enter the workforce.
Lisa felt she was never good enough in her parents’ eyes, always told she could do better even as she excelled academically. She rebelled, forming ties with other youth headed for delinquency. The conflict would get physical as abuse was seen as a way to punish her behaviour.
Tensions escalated to the point where she didn’t feel safe anymore. During Grades 11 and 12 she started attended counselling in secrecy.
Lisa said they worked on various strategies such as dealing with a hostile situation, how to avoid confrontation. Most important, she learned to understand her parents not as the people that were aggressive toward her but rather those who had her best intentions in mind and didn’t know how to address them the right way.
Things have since turned around. Her parents supported her in going abroad for the summer, even doing background research on the country she visited. When she turned 20, they wrote her a letter telling her how much they loved her and were proud.
“(It) is ridiculous to think just a couple of years ago it would not have been a reality, so a lot has changed since then,” said Lisa, who is using an alias to protect her identity. “I’m really grateful for the help I received at Eva’s because it really made a difference in my life.”
Parents are also able to benefit from the program.
Sally said there had been issues with parenting in her home for many years. They were predominantly around the behaviours her son was displaying and that she and her now ex-husband had difficulty managing.
Sam had been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder in Grade 5. While she would make accommodations for his behaviour, her ex would accuse the boy of not listening and of being rude.
Problems continued between her ex and son for years, as Sam skipped school and missed curfews. Sally’s ex ended up kicking Sam out of the home when he was a teen.
Sally said counselling she received at Eva’s helped to give her the strength she needed to get her son home. She said it also helped give her son clarity that his mother was supportive of him. He eventually returned home, and her marriage ended.
“I think a lot of parents are dealing with the same thing I was dealing with ... and you feel very helpless in that situation and you don’t know where to go,” said Sally, using an alias to protect her identity. “It’s unfortunate that this isn’t being brought more to the forefront for other parents because I see it as a necessary service.”
Gaetz said it will require a unified approach from all levels of government to develop strategic responses to homelessness.
At the provincial level where funding is controlled for most service delivery, they recommend establishing an inter-ministerial working group that spans all sectors. They’re also asking municipal governments to develop strategic plans to address youth homelessness.