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Youth Homelessness In Canada

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According to Youth homelessness: A call for partnerships between Research and policy; homeless youths are defined as a group of adolescents/young adults, between the ages of 12 to 24, who live in shelters, on streets, couches or in abandoned buildings. According to Evas.com, an non-profit dedicated to the prevention of homelessness reported that there is an estimated 35,000-40,000 homeless youth in Canada, additionally - many youths that are homeless have not completed their highschool education. “Literacy rates in Canada are among the highest in the world, … however, for many homeless youth, staying in school is a difficult challenge. Studies find that 63% to 90% of homeless youth did not complete highschool, despite being the age to do so.” …show more content…
These families do not have a stable income. According to Canada Without Poverty between 1980 and 2005, the average earnings of the least wealthiest Canadians had fallen by 20%. Without a stable income it becomes a challenge to sustain and provide for the family. The parents/guardians of the youth may have jobs in which do not pay enough or are unreliable, which prevents the youth from completing their education. Canada Without Poverty has also stated that over the past two years precarious employment has increased by almost 50%. Without a sufficient income these families are not be able to afford school resources such as textbooks, school supplies, field trips, extracurriculars, and school fees. Due to the lack of not having the ability to afford these school resources and fees parents and guardians may be forced to remove their children from schools. Once out of school the youth might decide to take up a part-time or full-time job, thus helping to support the family. The Government of Canada website has stated that “Of 360 homeless Toronto youth, only 15% identified paid employment as their primary source of income and only 15% reported being on social assistance”. (Gaetz and O’Grady, 2002) Although employment may be a youths only option once out of school, it is still a challenge. Without a complete high school or post-secondary education, proper clothing, resume, a permanent home address, or previous job experience, finding employment becomes significantly harder. “With Toronto’s youth unemployment rate at 43.5%, many young people face difficulties finding jobs” (S. Geobey. 2013. The Young and the Jobless: Youth Unemployment in Ontario, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives). According to Covenant House it is extremely challenging for youth to maintain being employed, this includes most youth in Canada, but specifically homeless youth are at a great disadvantage in terms of today’s job

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