Touchstone Youth Centre is a homeless shelter for youth between the ages of 16-24. As a student, who also falls in the age range of the residents, my experience has been an eye opener. Working with youth who are sometimes older than you can make certain situations intimidating,...
Since 1991, Touchstone (www.touchstoneyc.org) has been an active component of the City of Toronto’s response to youth homelessness. Over the years, however, the organization has observed an interesting correlation between its effectiveness and our community. As the involvement of the community increased, so did the quality of care....
Street youth are more likely to get sick and even die on the streets. A recent study that examined the mortality rate among homeless youth was carried out in Montreal between 1995 and 2000 and looked at 1,013 young people between the ages of 14 and 25. Originally...
Living on the street is no picnic. While it’s true that some youth seek the streets for adventure – and are derisively labelled “weekend warriors” or “twinkies: – and eventually return home, most street youth are there simply because there’s nowhere else to go. And on the street...
In 1999 the most comprehensive study about how street kids make their money was conducted by the Shout Clinic, which offers health care to homeless youth. Among the findings: 36% of street youth earn money by panhandling or squeegeeing 19% do break and enters or sell drugs 18%...
When youth become homeless, they don’t all automatically end up sleeping on street grates or in doorways. In fact, they end up staying in a variety of places. A 1999 survey found that: 60% of street youth are staying in one of Toronto’s youth shelters 25% staying in...
People become homeless for a wide variety of reasons – loss of job, marital breakdown, mental illness and alcohol and drug addiction. But when it comes to youth and children, the reasons tend to revolve around the family. Missing child reports: In 2003 in Canada, there were a...
Young men: 64% of homeless youth (youth are under 25) are male. 91% of these men and 72% of females are between the ages of 19 and 25. Studies have shown that these youth generally leave home around the age of 15. Poorly educated: Most men – 56%...
![TYCEoH[WEB11X17]](http://touchstoneyc.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/TYCEoHWEB11X17-250x114.jpg "TYCEoH[WEB11X17]")
