Ending Homelessness Assignment PDF

Running head: ENDING HOMELESSNESS
Ending Homelessness
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1ENDING HOMELESSNESS
Homelessness is such a problem that virtually every other society suffers from.
Although the world has become much advanced and many job opportunities are there for the
common public all around the globe, still, the existence of homeless people in this society is
evident today. There are several reasons for which people become homeless such as
unemployment, relationship issues, being cheated on or evicted from ones domicile by his or
her friend, family, landlord etc. However, with every cause, there is its effect as well. The
chosen homeless population for this essay is that of the youth homelessness. It shall elaborate
on describing this homeless population including the size of the population and recent trends
in the population. It shall further focus on the unique causes of homelessness in this
population and would briefly describe the unique health and social issues that is impacting
this population. Moreover, this paper is also going to shed light on the impacts of societal
systems such as health justice and child welfare on this population, describing two programs
found in Calgary that work to support this population. Lastly, the paper shall provide some
solutions for this issue as well.
Youth homelessness refers to the homelessness of young people in between the age
range of 13 to 24 years. These are the people who live their life independently of their
caregivers and most importantly, such people lack several social supports that are considered
to be important for the transition period from ones childhood to adulthood. Such people do
not possess a consistent house or residence and also don’t have a permanent source of
income. With the same, they also do not have ample access to the supporting networks
present in the society that are important to foster a nurturing and safer transition of theirs into
the responsibilities of adulthood. It is to note that as per Feir and Akee (2018), about 20% of
the total homeless population belonging from Canada comprise of people belonging from the
age range in between 13 and 24. In the year 2014, there were 35,000 to 40,000 young people
who were experiencing homelessness (Thulien et al., 2018). As per the report of Piat et al.

2ENDING HOMELESSNESS
(2015), the current scale of youth homelessness has increased in Canada. The Local
authorities of Canada has reported that the rate of young people being homeless has increased
(40%) or remained the same (35%), but have not decreased. This condition is due to the fact
that the level of poverty in Canada is going on increasing and there is a shortage of affordable
housing in this country. With the same, the mental health care deinstitutionalisation, violence
social networking alienation and abuse are the other factors that is increasing the rate of
youth homelessness here.
The primary causes of homelessness in this population are lack of affordable housing
in Canada and the system failures in the health care system and correctional homes. For
example, there are significant differences, including the mental, emotional, physical and
social development. The young people in Canada who are undergoing homelessness, lack the
skills and experiences that are required to live in independently. This is particular true for the
ones who are under the age of eighteen years. Also, conflicts in families underlies the youth
homelessness and there are many who are leaving the care of children welfare services. They
might feel unwanted by a new step-parent or because of their sexual orientation or gender
identity.
The young people who experience homelessness are often seen to be struggling with
self-esteem. It is something that puts them at the risk for suicide and other forms of negative
results. Homelessness is an increasing problem for youths, and it is having long-
lasting impacts ontheir mental and physical health.Sex trafficking is an increasing issue in
Canada. Majority of the victims of sex trafficking are young Canadian girls. With the same,
the homeless youth often lack ample education and job experience. Also, they lack life skills
and stability for finding out and maintaining employment. With the same, they also undergo a
large range of mental and physical health problems including respiratory problems, poor
nutrition, substance misuse, injuries or depression (Cutuli et al., 2017).Furthermore, these