Homeless Youth in Canada

Even with the daily struggle faced by youth in obtaining shelter and homelessness becoming a reality for a growing number of Canadians, Canada, with its high quality of life is one country that has always had a global long-standing reputation. This paper will be working towards giving the reader a better understanding with regards to homeless youth. It will be focusing on the reasons why they leave home, their lives on the street and steps they are trying to take to be able to leave the streets. An important finding from this research suggests, “the street youth population is diverse, complex, and heterogeneous”. According to Karabanow, made up of a number of subcultures including hardcore street-entrenched young people, squatters, group home kids, child welfare kids, soft-core twinkles, runaways, throwaways, refugees and immigrants is the generic term ‘street youth’.

According to the Enhanced Surveillance of Canadian Street Youth, 1999-2003, the ratio of males to females street youth is about 2:1. The principal reason reported by street youth for leaving home was conflict with parents. The main source of income for most street youth was social welfare. Report of dropping out of school/ expelled permanently from school by more than 35% of street youth. “More than one-half street youth reported emotional abuse or neglect and about 15% of street youth reported their families had been homeless”.

The first reason youth leave home is according to Klodawsky, Aubry and Farrell, “pervasiveness of family conflict and violence”. Most street youth, including aboriginals, have been victims of disruption in their family homes, violence and abuse. A considerable amount of them reported having to live in group homes, foster care, jail or i...

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... remains homeless. With a greater than 10% prevalence rate among street youth, which is about 10 times (less than 1%) the reported prevalence among the general youth population, is an easily curable STI called Chlamydia (Health Canada, 2006). This is a disease that could be spread through sexual contact with an infected partner either orally or anally. Between 1999-2003, there is a consistent increasing prevalence in street females than in males that is on the low (Health Canada, 2006). Gonorrhoea is another sexually transmitted disease that is common to street youth. The prevalence of gonorrhoea like Chlamydia is high in the street youth population as well as it is 20-30 times higher than that of the youth population in general. Also, just like the Chlamydia infection, the prevalence rates have been much higher in females than in males Health Canada, 2006).