Every now and then, it is important to say “we told you so”.
It was just a year ago that we brought together key community leaders to meet with senior staff at the City of Toronto’s Shelter Operations Unit. Bev Lepischak (Supporting Our Youth), Dr. Stephen Gaetz (York University), and Dr. David Rayside (University of Toronto) joined us to raise the issue of the overrepresentation of LBGTQ youth in the shelter system.
It was a polite meeting.
We opened with a compelling short video about a young trans woman and her experiences in Toronto’s shelters. We spoke about the urgent need for dedicated support services, and shared the importance of transitional housing for our community’s overrepresented and underserved queer and trans youth. We pushed to have LGBTQ identity included in the latest round of street needs assessment and we urged the City to fund research and case management supports in the area of queer and trans youth homelessness.
We left that meeting feeling hopeful that folks understood how serious the problem of LGBTQ youth homelessness is in Toronto. We left hoping that they would, this time, help to make a difference. As a result of this meeting, the City did work with us to include a question regarding LGBTQ identity on the Street Needs Assessment.
Last week the city released its interim report from that Streets Needs Assessment and provided, for the first time, statistical evidence of the reality we already know too well – 20% of youth in the shelter system identify as LGBTQ, more than twice the rate for all age groups.
Although 20% is high, we have reasons to believe that the prevalence of LGBTQ youth homelessness in Toronto is in fact even higher. For example, many youth choose to not come out as queer or trans to volunteers conducting the survey for a variety of reasons that often relate to them not feeling safe. Countless LGBTQ youth did not have a chance to complete the survey because they are part of Toronto’s hidden homeless population and do not access services, in part because of homophobia and transphobia in the shelter system and drop-in programs.
And yet, in the face of these alarming statistics there are no specialized shelters or transitional housing projects in the City of Toronto, or anywhere in Canada, dedicated to meeting the needs of queer and trans youth. This desperately needs to change.
After our meeting last year, the City issued a Call for Proposals seeking a new operator for a temporarily-closed youth shelter in Toronto. We proposed the conversion of the shelter into a dedicated facility for homeless LGBTQ youth. We asked the City to select us to take over the operations of this facility because we knew the need was urgent and that we could seize this unique opportunity to do things differently. The opportunity presented by this call for proposals seemed too good to be true – an existing building, with existing City funding, paired with a supportive case management-based model that would effectively create a safe welcoming space for queer and trans youth. Our proposal included key partnerships with our sister agencies to provide the dedicated specialized services we know are necessary to help our youth meet their full potential.
The opportunity proved too good to be true after all. We received a letter that we were not a successful bidder – with no explanation or response to the issues raised about queer and trans youth homelessness.
The City of Toronto shelter system is an evidence-based, complaint-driven system. The City relies on and requires evidence of need in order to implement changes to existing services and to introduce new services. We have provided evidence that clearly indicates that LGBTQ youth homelessness is a growing problem in Toronto and yet still there is minimal specialized support available. We have evidence that indicates that the shelter system can be a dangerous place for queer and trans youth.
We have recent research that provides detailed information on the current situation regarding LGBTQ youth homelessness in Toronto. Alex’s recent PhD study focused on LGBTQ youth homelessness in Toronto and the lack of support available. This research clearly indicates a major disconnect between the everyday experiences of LGBTQ youth in the shelter system and the perceptions and understanding of staff providers and the City of Toronto. It also found that the services that are meant to support homeless youth are not adequately meeting the needs of LGBTQ youth in our communities. This research may be recent, but there is also research dating back to 20 years ago that indicates the exact same problems.
The issue of LGBTQ youth homelessness has been inadequately addressed by the City of Toronto for far too long. Significant changes must be implemented in the shelter system and specialized housing must be created in order for the needs of queer and trans youth to be met in Toronto. We have stories shared by youth of their lived experiences in Toronto’s shelter system and now the City of Toronto has their own evidence that LGBTQ youth are overrepresented in the homeless youth population.
What more evidence do we need before we begin to implement appropriate services for LGBTQ youth? Now is the time for the City working in partnership with its community agencies to once again demonstrate leadership and ensure that LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness can receive the safe, accessible, and supportive services they deserve and desperately need.
Here’s hoping for change,
Maura and Alex
Maura Lawless has been the Executive Director of The 519 since 2008. Prior to joining The Centre, Maura worked for 17 years in homeless and housing services both as the Manager, Hostel Operations at the City of Toronto and the Director, Shelter, Housing and Support Services for Fred Victor Centre.
Alex Abramovich is a Doctoral candidate in the Adult Education and Community Development program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) – University of Toronto. Alex has been working in the area of LGBTQ youth homelessness for approximately 7-years and has been focusing on the lack of support available to this population of youth in Canada. Alex’s Ph.D. study investigates the changes that need to be implemented in Toronto’s shelter system in order for it to become safe, accessible, and supportive of LGBTQ youth.
