Services accessed by homeless and street-involved youth in British Columbia

Background: Homeless and street-involved youth are among the most vulnerable populations in Canada and experience significant health inequities. These young people require support in their communities to be resilient in... [ view full abstract ]

Background: Homeless and street-involved youth are among the most vulnerable populations in Canada and experience significant health inequities. These young people require support in their communities to be resilient in response to the challenges in their lives.

Methodology: The 2014 Homeless and Street-Involved Youth Survey (HSIY) was completed by 689 youth (aged 12-19) who were homeless, precariously housed, or involved in a street lifestyle.The survey was administered by experiential youth between October 2014 and January 2015 in cities and towns across British Columbia.

Results: Homeless and street-involved youth most commonly accessed youth centres, safe houses, dental services and job training. However, the most helpful services for participants were youth centres, dental services and food banks, which were each helpful for at least 80% of youth who accessed them. Youth who accessed these services and found them helpful frequently reported better outcomes, including those who found job services helpful being more likely to have had paid employment in the past month.

Youth most commonly reported that the services they needed more of in their communities were job training/work experience, safe and affordable housing, and access to safe houses, shelters or traditional housing. These priorities were the same as when the survey was previously conducted in 2006.

Conclusion: Although homeless and street-involved youth had accessed and benefited from numerous programs and services in their communities, there has been no change in the types of services that these young people require more of.