A Way Home: Planning to End Youth Homelessness in Kamloops
Carmin MazzottaSocial and Community Development SupervisorCity of Kamloops
• …an opportunity• Pilot community in a national
initiative to end youth homelessness
Jan 2013 – visioning session with all of the key stakeholders
“youth should be involved in every step of the process”
• “novel idea”• Put out a call, create a youth-led
committee• 3 credit crash course on
homelessness• 3 credit crash course on research
ethics• Focus groups and interviews…
• …and – Voila.
• Let’s back up…
• Then…. Challenges: • 3 credit crash course idea and
then adults step out of the way so as not to interfere with this entirely youth-led process….
…didn’t work
• Reframing:
Youth-Adult Partnership
Consultation process:• Focus groups with
homeless and at risk youth in the community
Consultation process:• Key interviews with front line
social workers who were still youth themselves (25 or under)
Media and public engagement:• Short film on
reflections of the process• Participation in
community events
• Plan drafted, shared with key stakeholders, youth participants, MCFD
• And then…. enter the grassroots Youth Supportive Housing Committee• Committee decided to adopt the
plan as their own and became the A Way Home Committee• Perfect marriage: a grassroots
committee, and a plan to provide a strategic framework and structure to guide the committee’s actions
Launch event • Over 100 people in
attendance• Media, politicians,
community leaders, front line staff, former youth in care
A Way Home – “Rooted in action:”• Acadia youth housing with
wraparound supports• CHBA partnership• Youth homelessness coordinator
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