Every night, up to 40,000 13-24-year-olds experience homelessness in Canada.
Behind each of these numbers is someone’s friend, a neighbour, a loved one experiencing unimaginable challenges, including family violence, mental health struggles and the daily challenges to find a safe place to call home.
Many of these young people are experiencing homelessness for the first time. Without early intervention, they face increased risks of violence, trauma, declining mental health and are at serious risk of becoming chronically homeless adults.
Post-pandemic inflation and soaring rents have made every day living more challenging than ever. Young people are particularly vulnerable to these circumstances.
At Covenant House, we’re on the frontlines of this crisis, seeing demand for our services continue to increase. Last year alone over 2,000 youth turned to us for support, and every day over 100 youth showed up at our drop in centre for a hot meal, clean clothes and a safe place to rest. More youth are staying with us longer, and the demand for our services often exceeds the available supply.
Amidst these challenges, we believe that providing youth with a stable place to stay along with access to on-site health care, counselling services, education, employment services and the skill development opportunities that we offer at Covenant House can break the cycle of homelessness and pave a path to a bright future.
Our response to this urgent, increased need is thoughtful, tailored programming to ensure young people get the right supports at the right time, while guiding them to realize their full potential.
Youth show up at our doors seeking shelter, safety, and a helping hand at extremely challenging moment in their life. They leave with so much more – a caring community and the skills and confidence to build a new stable future for themselves.