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Hidden homelessness: 2016 youth survey in Thompson

Hidden homelessness: 2016 youth survey

Ian Graham    Thompson Citizen . April 19, 2017

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Youth homelessness in Thompson is not as evident as homelessness among adults, but a survey conducted last May showed there are young people in Thompson who deal with having no place to spend the night.

Information for the survey, which was led by Maureen Simpkins, an associate professor in aboriginal and northern studies/social sciences at the University College of the North (UCN), and Marleny Bonnycastle, an assistant professor in the University of Manitoba Faculty of Social Work, was presented to the community at a pair of information sessions April 10, which drew about 60 attendees between them.

The youth survey, completed on a voluntary basis by people aged 16 to 29 who didn’t have a place to that night or didn’t know they were going to stay, generated 69 responses. Fifty-seven per cent of those surveyed identified as female and 38 per cent identified as male and the average age of the participants was 22.3 years. Eighty-five per cent of them identified as indigenous and 47 per cent came from outside of Thompson. More than half – 52 per cent – indicated that they had been involved with the criminal justice system while 46 per cent were in or had been involved in the foster care system. Half of the participants who identified as indigenous or Métis said they did not have a stable place to stay on a regular basis and 87 per cent said housing instability was an issue for youth in Thompson.

Most of the participants aged 17 to 20 or 25 and up who were homeless were female, Bonnycastle said at the evening information session, while in the 21- to 24-year-old age group the majority of those experiencing homelessness were male. Fifty-six per cent of those who were or had been involved with the foster care system were female and 81 per cent were aged 24 or younger. Participants aged 24 or under represented 67 per cent of the youth who had been involved with the criminal justice system and 78 per cent of participants who had been involved with the criminal justice system were not attending school. Nearly one-third – 30 per cent – of participants had been or were involved with both the criminal justice and foster care systems.

The survey was funded by the Urban Aboriginal Knowledge Network, UCN, the University of Manitoba and the Manitoba Research Alliance with the aim of generating data about youth homelessness in Thompson, said Simpkins.

“They’re often not people that use the [homeless] shelter,” said Simpkins. “They couch surf and are a little bit more invisible to some people.”

The top six causes of youth homelessness that survey participants identified were dysfunctional family life, a lack of housing, involvement with the criminal justice system, poverty, parental addictions and aging out of foster care. The top changes that participants said they would like to see were housing for youth, a youth centre and shelter, job training for youth, more cultural and recreational activities, support regarding addictions and economic and psychological support for parents.

The purpose of the two sessions wasn’t just to provide data, Simpkins said.

“The intention of this gathering is really to share with you some of the preliminary findings from the youth count that was done a year ago in 2016 and to begin discussions about the possibility of the creation of a community action plan,” she said. “We’re in phase three now, which is the community action plan on youth homelessness, moving towards that knowledge mobilization, getting that knowledge out there, getting that information out there for people to use however they would like.”

In support of that goal, following the presentation, participants broke into groups to discuss possible solutions and actions to address the structural factors, system failures and individual and relational factors that contribute to youth homelessness and housing instability, then shared their ideas with the other groups.

Bonnycastle said youth homelessness, like homelessness in general, cannot be addressed simply by having groups in different communities working independently. While most homeless youth in the north are from the north, there are also homeless youth from the region who live in southern Manitoba, according to a 2016 report on youth homelessness in Winnipeg.

“They released a report last year in October and also they have identified a significant number of youth who are homeless in Winnipeg who are from Northern Manitoba communities,” said Bonnycastle. 

– See more at: http://www.thompsoncitizen.net/news/thompson/hidden-homelessness-2016-youth-survey-1.15827177#sthash.2ZTicj1Z.dpuf




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