Resumen
Tackling youth homelessness has always been challenging, but the polycrisis (pandemic, climate, housing, overdose and staffing crises) has exasperated issues. This is a devastating phenomenon for young people, who face decreased job opportunities, increased expenses, increased debt loads, increased climate anxiety and delayed or interrupted entrance into the workforce—all factors that increase this demographic’s sensitivity to economic fluctuations. As an offshoot, these challenges have troubled social workers and other social justice practitioners, researchers, and policymakers wanting to make change. While many groups have called on policymakers to prioritize vulnerable populations to make further investments in programs specifically for young people facing barriers to ensure they are not further let down by the system, they often lack effective examples of practices that support individual youth, their families and their communities.\ In looking to creative approaches to tackle the barriers to housing and employment faced by diverse young people, little attention has been paid to the role a collaboration between not-for-profit, governmental and private sector can bring to redress this issue. To remedy this gap, this session examines research-based findings from one not-for-profit organization that provides a supportive employment and housing program to youth experiencing barriers to housing and employment. The Work2Live program is delivered in Whistler, Canada. Its approach to cultivating supportive employment for youth-at-risk of homelessness is unique in the partnerships it has fostered with employers, service providers, government services and the community. Through a government grant, this program has expanded and focused efforts on understanding and creating effective supports for both employers and participants. This has ripple effects for employees beyond participants. The program illustrates how one organization has traversed issues created by the polycrisis while furthering a collaborative and reciprocal approach with the community to provide support to diverse young people experiencing multiple barriers to housing and employment.
Palabras Clave (separar con comas)
supportive employment, youth homelessness, collaborative support