From The Winnipeg Free Press–Providing help with housing and intensive supports to youth leaving foster, care so they don’t end up homeless, will save Manitoba money in the long run, says a report on a Winnipeg pilot project.
A report on the Canadian Mental Health Association’s Futures Forward six-month program said youth discharged from Child and Family Services who get help are less likely to end up homeless and in the emergency room, or be victims of sexual exploitation, addiction, and suicidal or criminal actions.
“When children are being taken from their families, then are discharged into homelessness, that puts people in a disadvantaged position,” said report author Rachel Dunsmore, who sees a connection to the national issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
“This is a pathway that has people ending up in bad situations,” said Dunsmore, whose report, Futures Forward Enhancement Project: Qualitative Research of Youth Housing First Pilot Project, was published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and released on Wednesday.