I have been working with homeless youth for 29 years and one of the most powerful lessons I’ve learned came only 5 years ago. It was taught to me by a 19 year old woman who had been homeless; who at age 16 had lived on the streets for 2 weeks in London, Ontario. Continue reading
Category Archives: Youth Homelessness
Surrounded by Cedar
National Aboriginal Day is just a few days away – a day we celebrate the unique heritage, diverse cultures, and outstanding achievements of the nation’s Aboriginal peoples. In honour of National Aboriginal Day we thought we’d provide you with a closer look at Surrounded by Cedar, an organization dedicated to at-risk Aboriginal youth in our community. Continue reading
Seeing Youth Homelessness
Just six more days until the bell rings for thousands of students across Greater Victoria – it’s time to head back to school. Students and parents are busy getting those last minute items; backpacks, binders, the perfect back to school outfit, juice boxes, snacks, the list goes on and on. But this isn’t the case for all youth. As youth who are homeless get ready for this school year, they have to consider where they will live and what they will eat, in addition to which classes they’ll take. Continue reading
Myths of Homelessness: Part 2
This week we continue our effort to debunk the myths of homelessness. In Part 1 of our series, we tackled the myths that homelessness only happens downtown and that those experiencing homelessness are only the mentally ill, drug addicts or alcoholics. This week, we will look at the myth that youth are on the street because they’re rebellious and have run away from home and the myth that most people experiencing homelessness choose to be homeless. Continue reading