Search

Historically, the prevention of youth homelessness has not been a priority in Canada or the United States. In recent years, this has begun to change. While there is growing recognition that a shift by preventing homelessness is required to bring a substantive end to homelessness, a common and shared understanding of what prevention is and what it involves has remained largely absent or obscured in both policy and practice. In this paper, we focus specifically on the prevention of youth homelessness and set out to provide conceptual clarity through presenting a clear definition of what prevention is and what it is not. Accompanying the definition is a five-point typology that includes (1) structural prevention; (2) systems prevention; (3) early intervention; (4) crisis intervention, and (5) housing stabilization. Each of the five elements of the typology is defined, identifying who is responsible for implementation. In addition, the typology is populated with examples of different approaches to the prevention of youth homelessness. We conclude with some key considerations to guide the implementation of preventive interventions and present core principles designed to support the development of effective and quality prevention interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pregnancy rates among youth experiencing homelessness are much higher than those of their housed peers, yet limited research exists on this population's abortion experiences. This study examined abortion attitudes, experiences, and decision making through individual interviews with 30 female, male, and gender-fluid youth (ages 18-21 years) experiencing homelessness. Respondents indicated that abortions are common in this population. Many youth also reported they either had, and/or knew of others, who had attempted abortions outside of the formal medical system while experiencing homelessness. Most youth noted that self-inductions resulted from not knowing where or how to access abortions safely, and as many feared stigma, judgment, and violence from family members and serious partners in response to obtaining abortions. Most youth reflected inaccurate perceptions regarding abortion cost, accessibility, and legality. Findings should be considered in developing socially contextualized family planning prevention and outreach efforts among this highly vulnerable youth population.

Background: Timely access to relevant and trustworthy research findings is an important facilitator of research use. But the relational aspects of evidence generation, mobilisation and use have been insufficiently explored. Aims and objectives: Our aim is to describe the strategic communicative and relational work of two intermediary organisations playing thought leadership roles within a large, heterogeneous and loosely configured network comprised of individuals and organisations from the following sectors: academia, frontline service delivery, philanthropic funding, advocacy organisations and government. Methods: The data for this project were generated as part of a study of the ways social science research influences policy, practice and systems-change processes. Proceeding from the standpoints of people who generate and/or engage with research in an effort to address homelessness in Canada, this article focuses on the intersections of research, strategic communication and policy making. Findings: Our findings suggest that strategic communication and knowledge exchange play integral roles in efforts to create evidence-based policy change. These communicative activities take the form of public-facing political and/or media engagement strategies, traditional knowledge mobilisation activities and continuous informal and timely exchanges of information between trusted allies. Discussion and conclusions: Our study reveals the importance of a heterogeneous network structure, with formal and informal alliances between individuals and organisations, as well as key intermediary organisations through which knowledge can be strategically mobilised within the network to serve policy change aims. Furthermore, our study suggests that interest in evidence-led governance is shifting the boundaries between research, advocacy and government action.

Drawing on semistructured interviews with Canadian Grade 4 to 12 students, this article uses a feminist lens to explore gendered and sexualized bullying and cyberbullying among children and youth. Our findings indicate that while boys' roles and behaviors were frequently made invisible, girls were typically spotlighted, blamed, and criticized. Girls' experiences were often minimized and normalized by peers and linked to gender norms and stereotypes that were largely invisible to participants. The central theme of invisibility emerged, which encompassed and interconnected the three subthemes: (a) gendered stereotyping, (b) spotlighting girls, and (c) gender surveillance and policing. Gendered and sexualized bullying and cyberbullying were found to be part of a socialization process wherein girls come to expect gender-based aggression, violence, and inequality in their lives. This article makes explicit how bullying and cyberbullying are linked to societal norms that put girls at risk of harassment, violence, abuse, and discrimination.

Amongst women and gender diverse (WGD) populations experiencing homelessness in Canada, one of the most vulnerable and understudied subgroups are those who are pregnant. A key barrier to accessing housing for this population are policies that lead to siloed sector work and complicated and inaccessible services. Frequent relocation and fragmented access to essential prenatal and postnatal support are the result. Experiences of homelessness for WGD people are distinct from that of cisgender men; the former tend to experience 'hidden homelessness' and are more likely to rely on relational, precarious, and sometimes dangerous housing options. The homelessness sector, its policies, and services tend to be cis-male-centric because of the greater visibility of homelessness in cis-men and fail to meet pregnant WGD people's needs. This paper describes the findings from a one-day symposium that was held in Toronto, Canada, in June 2023 that aimed to address the siloed approach to housing provision for pregnant WGD people experiencing homelessness. A key focus was to understand how to incorporate a gendered and intersectional discourse into practice and policy. Adopting a gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) approach within policymaking can help illuminate and address why certain groups of WGD people are disproportionately affected by homelessness, including Indigenous Peoples, recent immigrants, racialized people, and those experiencing intimate partner violence, poverty, and substance use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Several youth staying at emergency youth shelters (EYSs) in Toronto experience poorly coordinated care for their health needs, as both the EYS and health systems operate largely in silos when coordinating care for this population. Understanding how each system is structurally and functionally bound in their healthcare coordination roles for youth experiencing homelessness (YEH) is a preliminary step to identify how healthcare coordination can be strengthened using a system thinking lens, particularly through the framework for transformative system change. Methods: Forty-six documents, and twenty-four semi-structured interviews were analyzed to explore how the EYS and health systems are bound in their healthcare coordination roles. We continuously compared data collected from documents and interviews using constant comparative analysis to build a comprehensive understanding of each system's layers, and the niches (i.e., programs and activities), organizations and actors within these layers that contribute to the provision and coordination of healthcare for YEH, within and between these two systems. Results: The EYS and health systems are governed by different ministries, have separate mandates, and therefore have distinct layers, niches, and organizations respective to coordinating healthcare for YEH. While neither system takes sole responsibility for this task, several government, research, and community-based efforts exist to strengthen healthcare coordination for this population, with some overlap between systems. Several organizations and actors within each system are collaborating to develop relevant frameworks, policies, and programs to strengthen healthcare coordination for YEH. Findings indicate that EYS staff play a more active role in coordinating care for YEH than health system staff. Conclusion: A vast network of organizations and actors within each system layer, work both in silos and collaboratively to coordinate health services for YEH. Efforts are being made to bridge the gap between systems to improve healthcare coordination, and thereby youths' health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article conveys the results of a three-year ethnographic study of a pan-Canadian community–university collaboration to prevent and end youth homelessness. The collaboration adapted aspects of a collective impact (CI) approach to pursue a large-scale shift in how youth homelessness is addressed in Canada. The objective of this article is to codify and share the model developed and implemented by the community–university collaboration as an opportunity for ongoing adaptation and learning among others undertaking similarly complex and collaborative systems-change efforts. Findings suggest a CI approach is unlikely to be suitable for large-scale innovation-oriented initiatives, and that context-specific adaptations of the model should be encouraged. To what is already known about collaborative multisectoral partnerships, this article reveals the importance of strategic information sharing, targeted and flexible research and knowledge mobilization efforts, and ongoing attentiveness to the relational dimensions of collaborative evidence-informed systems-change efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the study which analyzes the importance of understanding the relation of social service programs for indigenous youth with colonial history. It discusses the contradictory and complex role of a social service program in cultural preservation, assimilation, and acculturation. Also mentioned are the benefits of the program in fostering decolonization and the maladaptive behavior or acts of resistance of youths on the program.