OTTAWA, November 17, 2016 – The Canadian Observatory on Homelessness at York University, A Way Home Canada and Home Depot Canada Foundation today announced the results of the first ever National Youth Homelessness Survey in Canada. According to this ground-breaking new survey, Youth homelessness can begin as young as age 13, and if not addressed can lead to years on the streets.

“So many youth have their first experience of homelessness in their early teens, and our research shows that once on the streets things really go downhill,” said Stephen Gaetz, director of the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness at York University. “If we don’t address youth homelessness early, we will be dealing with chronic adult homelessness in the future.”

More than 6,000 youth don’t have a safe place to sleep every night, making youth homelessness one of the most urgent social issues in Canada. Without A Home – The National Youth Homelessness Survey finds that understanding the causes and conditions of youth homelessness are vital to implementing the right supports to help create successful futures and break the cycle of youth homelessness.

“The findings will lead to more effective plans, strategies and interventions at the national, regional and local levels to prevent and end youth homelessness in Canada,” said Melanie Redman, Executive Director of A Way Home Canada. "From conception, this critical piece of research was a collaborative effort between The Home Depot Canada Foundation, researchers, service providers, and most importantly, youth with lived experience.”

In the past three years, The Home Depot Canada Foundation has helped more than 300 community partners ensure more homeless youth have access to housing that is safe and supportive, established a thought leadership advisory council, worked with youth who have lived experiences, and supported new research to better understand the circumstances and needs of homeless youth in Canada. In recognition of the successes of its original $10 million contribution in 2013, The Home Depot Canada Foundation also announced today it will double its investment. Adding an additional $10 million investment over the next two years toward helping prevent and end youth homelessness, bringing the total to $20 million by 2018.

“We are proud of the work we’ve done and access to this unprecedented data demonstrates how much more we must do,” said Jeff Kinnaird, chair of the board, The Home Depot Canada Foundation and president, The Home Depot Canada. “By focusing our efforts on organizations that provide safe, stable housing, life skills development programs and research initiatives, we can help build brighter futures for homeless and at-risk youth across Canada.”

You can download a copy of the full report here: Without A Home – The National Youth Homelessness Survey

About York University
York University is known for championing new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-discipline programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. York students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world’s most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. York U is an internationally recognized research university – our 11 faculties and 26 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide. Located in Toronto, York is the third largest university in Canada, with a strong community of 53,000 students, 7,000 faculty and administrative staff, and more than 295,000 alumni. York U's fully bilingual Glendon campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education.

About The Canadian Observatory On Homelessness
The Canadian Observatory on Homelessness is a non-profit, non-partisan research institute that is committed to conducting and mobilizing research so as to contribute to real and sustainable solutions to homelessness. For more information, please visit: www.homelesshub.ca/CanadianObservatoryonHomelessness

About The Home Depot Canada Foundation
The Home Depot Canada Foundation is committed to putting an end to youth homelessness in Canada. On any given night, more than 6,000 young people are without a place to call home, making youth homelessness one of the most urgent social issues facing Canadians today. Through The Orange Door Project initiative, the Foundation has pledged $20 million by 2018 to support renovation and repair projects and programs that provide vulnerable youth with access to safe, stable housing and support services. For more information, please visit: www.orangedoorproject.ca

About A Way Home Canada
A Way Home Canada is a national coalition dedicated to preventing, reducing and ending youth homelessness in Canada. We inspire and enable communities and all levels of government through a Collective Impact framework to organize, plan and implement strategies to address youth homelessness in a coordinated, measurable and impactful way. By strengthening families and building the assets and resilience of youth, we can help young people avoid homelessness and make a healthy transition to adulthood. For more information, please visit: www.awayhome.ca

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Media contact:
Chris McCluskey, Sr. Consultant, Environics Communications, 613-388-3683, cmccluskey@environicspr.com