Demographic segment: The homeless community in Toronto has reached critical levels. It is estimated that 10,000 young people between age 16 to 24…
Since the McKinney-Vento Act and revisions made by the HEARTH Act did not specifically cater to the housing needs of homeless youth, I thought that it would be beneficial to create a program under these policies that would provide housing for Liz and other homeless unaccompanied youth. The Transitional Housing program would not only meet Liz’s housing needs, but also meet her basic needs, teach her essential skills, as well as link her to supportive services. In addition, connecting Liz to the McKinney-Vento Education Program would ensure that she is provided with stability, consistency, and services while also ensuring that she is accomplishing academic success. Therefore, by providing Liz with housing, teaching her necessary skills, and providing her with other supportive services as well as educational support this would help to eliminate or reduce her risk of becoming…
The ethnography that caught my eye was “With No Direction Home: Homeless Youth On the Road and in the Streets” by: Marni Finkelstein, is an interesting and in depth look into the world of homeless youth, showing the reader the progression of the homeless youth and the tactics they use everyday to make this a lifestyle they chose. The Ethnography primarily takes place during the summer months and the homeless youth that Finkelstein interviewed and took information from were mostly based in the East village neighbourhood in New York, concentrating in and around Tompkins square park (Finkelsteing,8). The author wanting to give the reader a more understanding look into the lives of these homeless youth learning about their experiences, priorities…
Homelessness is a world wide issue that has not prejudice it can happen to anyone. It is growing yearly and faces a large amount of ignorance from all forms of society. We chose to zoom in on Down Town Toronto, which has a large homeless population that is a safety concern for both the homeless and the rest of Toronto. Homelessness is persons without stability in relation to proper housing. The individuals who might live on the streets of Toronto or stay in a shelter, abandoned buildings. Identification of the instability of an individual’s living arrangements is essential to the definition of homelessness. With this growing issue the cognitive and mental stability is greatly affected. With that said experiences on any level are proposed to be negative.…
Widespread concern emerged in the early 1970s about youth who were away from home and in at-risk situations, often through no fault of their own.…
Homelessness has a serious impact on both the young people affected and the wider society.…
“What about sleeping outside to bring awareness to homelessness?” was my suggestion to service project ideas on the Service Committee Board for Community Youth Council (CYC). After debating the pros and cons from adopting one of the many littered potholes in town to the merits of holding a senior citizen prom within the community, the Service Committee still has not reached a consensus. Officially, CYC’s mission is to “serve as a unified voice for the youth of our community.” While holding “youth” service projects have been a norm in the past, the ignorance of the public’s awareness regarding homelessness within the community was something that needed to be addressed.…
under the bridges and in the parks. It is homelessness. In Canada alone, there are 150 000 people…
Social work is a huge part of our society and has a great deal of benefits the effect our society on a positive note. For example social work plays a huge influence on those who are homeless, and have no shelter or proper supplies to maintain a healthy lifestyle. “Homelessness is structural rather than individual in nature, thus defining homelessness in terms of oppression, power inequalities, and social forces” (Taylor, 2013, pg.262). Homelessness plays a huge role in our society and many individuals see this as something that needs to be eradicated. Canada itself has a large population of homeless individuals, there are many different reasons to why someone lost everything that they owned which lead to poverty and in some cases even losing their family.…
It is important to find an early exit out of homelessness because a longer stay can make it less likely for an exit out of homelessness. Many who enter into homelessness first encounter youth hostels, emergency accommodations and Out of Hours Services (OHS). In these accommodations, it is very likely for a young person to engage with other peers living in the hostel or care setting and get involved in the ‘homelessness scene’. In these accommodations, a young person is typically provided with a bed at night, but has the entire day from early in the morning until late at night to be on the streets and find things to do. This is a period that many individuals in the study talked about getting involved with other homeless individuals and partaking in drugs, alcohol, criminal activity and violence. One young man who was 19 at the time said, "Everyone that was in it (adult hostel) was on it (heroin) ... Yeah, looking at them stoned and they’re all talking about it. The relief that it’s supposed to bring them so I just tried it and liked it”(Mayock et al 2008:130). This is a common statement that so many of the homeless youth individuals experience because they don’t feel that they have many other options. They are put into ‘risky’ accommodations and meet several individuals who are participating in these risky behaviors. One young man aged…
With the recent affordable-housing crisis that has been transpiring in Canada, homelessness has become a highly significant social issue (Gaetz, Gulliver, & Richter, 2014, p. 5). To address the issue of homelessness, the Alberta Secretariat for Action on Homelessness (Secretariat) released the document “A Plan for Alberta: Ending Homelessness in 10 Years” in 2008. The philosophy behind this plan is Housing First which was popularized in New York City in the 1990’s (Calgary Homeless Foundation, 2014, p. 1).…
Homelessness and hunger are two overlapping dimensions of the same problem. The correlation of these two ideologies is known as poverty. People in Canada and across the planet who suffer from poverty are unable to afford a house, and are incapable of purchasing sufficient food to supplement a healthy diet. According to a journal written by Nate Laurie, in Canada alone, 15.6 percent of Canadians and 35.8 percent of new Canadians live under the poverty line; meaning that they are unable to afford the basic necessities to live (Laurie, 2008). Poverty and homelessness pose numerous impacts to the surrounding society in social, economic, and cultural points of view. Regardless of the extreme expenses that poverty may impose on society, measures…
Homelessness has been a growing problem throughout Canada. With an increasing number of homeless citizens in Canada, it shouldn’t be a cause for concerns when the middle and higher class population starts asking questions. Myself, a part of the middle class, see homeless individuals everywhere so it does affect me. In my opinion, homeless people should NOT be criminalized as this goes against the several aspects that makes Canada such a great place to reside. Classism is a very difficult problem to solve, as every nation faces this. It shouldn’t be up to us to differentiate homeless people amongst others. Pursuing survival is an aspect of human nature and no one should face consequences for this. As long as the homeless society is not affecting anyone else around them or are causing any problems, there should not be any concern.…
What do YOU think it would be like to be homeless? Could you imagine not knowing when you will eat or where you will sleep next? On a realistic level, how would you feel not being able to shower and wearing dirty clothes day in and day out not knowing when you will be able to wash them?…
Still to this day, homelessness is a huge problem in Canada. Far too many people are living without a home, and everyday this rates of homelessness rises. People living without a home are not only missing out on a bed to lie in, but also a place of security that gives a sense of belonging and wellbeing (The PLoS Medicine Editors, 2008). The reasons behind becoming homeless are endless. It could be because of a loss of job, family conflict, violence and abuse, or substance abuse. While there are many other reasons, these are the most common, with drug abuse being the top leading factor (Mallett, 2005). Homelessness is hard to define as it is highly speculated, but most people agree that it includes people who have been living in a shelter, public place, car, abandoned shelter, or another’s residence, and not having a place of their own, for the past seven days (Grinman, Chiu, Redelmeier, Levinson, Kiss,…