Helping homelessness youth has more to do with opportunities and people who offer help at critical times.
Guest speakers Charlotte Smith (photo above) and Avery Taylor spoke about Homelessness & Youth at the Stittsville Rotary club meeting on November 24, 2021.
The 2 speakers shared their personal experiences through a difficult childhood and adolescence. They spent time in foster homes, dropped out of school, had drug dependencies, and were sometimes homeless on the street. But in their presentations, the two women discussed their pathways to recovery, and the obstacles in their way.
Unlike many homeless youths, Charlotte eventually was able to focus on school. Just this past week, she successfully defended her thesis in the Masters’ program at Carleton University (sociology program). For that thesis she was a peer researcher, interviewing many homeless youths living on the streets in Ottawa. She talked about her findings and on the ways out of homelessness for young people. As part of the strategy for change, she recommended that issues related to youth homelessness should be taught as a unit of the high school curriculum to increase awareness of the issues among young people and help them to be aware of the resources available to them.
Charlotte stressed that homeless youths need to be presented with opportunities rather than punishment: offers of help at critical times; help in forging relationships and developing coping skills, access to alternate education programs; help in finding a job and obtaining a driver’s license (a requirement for many jobs). Punitive strategies such as suspension from school are counter-productive in assisting the youth to get back on track to achieve their goals. In conclusion, both Charlotte and Avery underlined the importance of community support and understanding.