Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Ashley Legassic

YOUTH HOMELESSNESS

B.C.’s children representative, Kamloops advocate call on government to end youth homelessness by 2021

Feb 21, 2020 | 11:07 AM

KAMLOOPS — After hearing from more than 200 marginalized youth in B.C., a Kamloops advocate against youth homelessness is calling on the provincial government to do more.

Katherine McParland, executive director of A Way Home Kamloops, released a report titled From Marginalized to Magnified: Youth Homelessness Solutions from Those with Lived Expertise today (Feb. 21), in a joint news release with B.C.’s Representative for Children and Youth, Jennifer Charlesworth.

“This report magnifies the voices of 231 marginalized youth to ensure that their lived expertise is heard by government,” McParland said. “B.C. now has an unprecedented opportunity and policy window to develop a plan to eradicate youth homelessness so that no youth is left behind. There is an urgency to this issue. The longer a young person is homeless, the more trauma and victimization they experience. There is no time to wait.”

The report was made up of input gathered from young people at 13 forums held across the province, along with data from an online survey.

In the report, youth identify what can lead to homelessness, the impacts of homelessness on young people, the barriers that exist to receiving services and support to escape or avoid homelessness, and suggest solutions for ending the problem.

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“Many young people spoke about the end to homelessness being so much more than bricks and mortar, but also a sense of belonging and connections to their communities,” McParland said. “We’re asking government to champion a provincial plan that will provide the resources youth so desperately need. If one ministry takes on the role of parent, we need other ministries to be extended family. We can and we must prevent and end youth homelessness in our communities.”

The report’s sole recommendation calls on the province to develop a distinct plan to end youth homelessness by January 2021 and to involve youth with lived experience in the development of the plan.

View the full report here.