Mark Muldoon received 117 referrals to house youth in 2015.

The executive director of Threshold Housing Society, a non-profit organization offering transitional housing for youth, says they only have 30 rooms in total. That means he has the unfortunate task of saying B次元官网网址渘oB次元官网网址� more often than he says B次元官网网址測es.B次元官网网址�

The calls from the Ministry of Child and Family Development, high school councillors, First Nations child and family services, Pacific Centre Family Services Association, foster parents and even self referrals just canB次元官网网址檛 be fulfilled.

B次元官网网址淲e draw from as far north as Nanaimo and Duncan. We even have youth from Port Alberni, Port Hardy, Cobble Hill; and they all come here,B次元官网网址� Muldoon says. B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e all drawn here because perhaps they have to finish school, perhaps employment opportunities are better here, (maybe) mental health services are a bit better.B次元官网网址�

One way or another, he says, the youth find their way to Greater Victoria. Contrary to what some may believe, he adds, the vast majority are great kids and face different challenges that mean they canB次元官网网址檛 be lumped in with adults.

B次元官网网址淯nless this society really separates out adult homelessness and youth homelessness, they are never going to get it right. With youth homelessness, the kids are not there by choice, they have been abandoned, they are escaping abuse, they are aging out of foster care or thereB次元官网网址檚 family conflict,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淏ut the prejudice out there is huge. They think these kids are anti-authoritarian B次元官网网址� that these youth are just somehow bucking the system and they just want to party. ThatB次元官网网址檚 not our experience.B次元官网网址�

West Shore-raised Camellia Lawson remembers what it felt like at 16 to not know where she was going to sleep the next night. She said it was one of the most challenging times of her life. After cutting herself to the point where she didnB次元官网网址檛 know if sheB次元官网网址檇 be able to stop, she handed over her pocket knife to her adoptive parents.

Instead of packing her books for school the next day, she packed her bags, because she knew she likely wouldnB次元官网网址檛 be back home anytime soon.

B次元官网网址淚 was in the hospital for a little while and the discharge papers came through from the psychiatrist, and it was signed off for me to leave, (but) my adopted parents decided it wouldnB次元官网网址檛 be best B次元官网网址� So they kind of handed over their rights while I was in the hospital,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淚t was a weekend, so no one knew what to do. (An) on-call social worker at the hospital was trying to figure out what to do.B次元官网网址�

Still in high school, Lawson was fresh off a stint in a mental hospital to help her deal with challenges and had nowhere to go. It was one of the worst days of her life, she says.

B次元官网网址�(Youth) donB次元官网网址檛 know how to reach out for services. Sometimes the services are overfull and (people) slip through the cracks. ItB次元官网网址檚 definitely an issue.B次元官网网址�

Shyann Hoppe is a nursing student at the University of Victoria studying youth homelessness and advocates options for youth on the West Shore. She says the problem spreads far further than just the physical need for shelter.

B次元官网网址淎nxiety, and other types of psychological disease processes, are all affected by outward factors that youB次元官网网址檙e predisposed to if you are homeless,B次元官网网址� she says.  B次元官网网址淎t the end of your day youB次元官网网址檙e exhausted. It doesnB次元官网网址檛 matter what youB次元官网网址檝e done, if you have worked a full shift, if you are running errands all day; how good it feels at the end of the day to go to a house, a place you can call a home B次元官网网址� It doesnB次元官网网址檛 matter where you live, having that place to go really solidifies your holistic well being.B次元官网网址�

Hoppe, part of a cohort studying the West Shore specifically says even a couple of weeks of not having a place to go creates anxiety, a general feeling of malaise, and affects mental and physical health and the motivation to succeed.

B次元官网网址淚 think itB次元官网网址檚 very important to have that support and motivation in life when you are a youth,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淭here arenB次元官网网址檛 any resources that are easily accessible for the youth in the West Shore right now, and that is one of the reasons we focused on the West Shore.B次元官网网址�

alim@goldstreamgazette.com

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