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Community has a role in fighting youth homelessness
For the good of our youth and the communities they live in, we need to work together – it’s as simple as that.
As I look around our community, I see a combination of struggle and hopefulness. These struggles are issues we must all play a role in to address the needs of our most vulnerable youth. The plain truth is that despite how easy it is to react to youth with frustration and judgment, there are clear and consistent reasons why for so many, life is a struggle at such a young age.
Youth homelessness is a complicated issue. In many cases it is a symptom stemming from childhood trauma, mental health, addictions, poverty, a disrupted education, and a lack of safe and affordable housing – there’s no solving an issue this complex without the whole community coming together.
In my 18 years with Choices for Youth I have witnessed the incredibly personal struggles and accomplishments of thousands of youth. As much as I would love to say our days are full of wonderful stories of triumph over hardship, they are not.
Far too many young people struggle needlessly to make sense of the multiple barriers in front of them. The solutions to these require our understanding, patience and support – offered without judgment or prejudice.
The good news is that despite these barriers, there is a great deal of hopefulness and accomplishment for us to celebrate. From the young mom who, with great determination, succeeds in achieving a better life for herself and her children by completing her high school education, or by becoming a diversity fund recipient and learning a trade, to the youth who, for the first time in his life, has a safe and stable place to live, to the young teen who, with our support, is able to take the initial steps in getting help for their addiction and mental illness.
It may surprise many that, after all these years, I have never met a youth who does not want a better life and who is not willing to work for it. It may take a little digging, but it is always there. And for those who say youth are simply choosing to be homeless, to be unsafe, isolated, in poverty – I assure you this isn’t the case.
Being an at-risk homeless youth is a daily struggle. Thankfully, it is a struggle that can be overcome with dedicated and individualized supports; the kind of supports we offer at Choices.
What does all of this mean for our community? It means that all of us have a role to play in helping to better the lives of the over 700 youth who walked through the doors at Choices this year, and the lives of the hundreds more who will come to us for support over the holidays and in the months to come. These youth are from all over our province, with different needs and different stories; with different strengths and different dreams. What they all need is a little help in realizing those dreams.
These youth need our support. They need us to believe in them and their goals for a better life.
So, if you feel as I feel, and if you believe in the vision of ending youth homelessness, I ask you to support Choices for Youth this holiday season. Between now and Dec. 25, we’re sharing 25 stories of hope to inspire you to build a stronger, safer, more inclusive and more diverse St. John’s.
Please, donate today at www.25storiesofhope.com and help change the lives of young people in our community.
Sheldon Pollett, executive director of Choices for Youth
St. John’s.
3 December 3w014
