Youth aging out of CFS need support, report finds

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/08/2019 (2400 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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.

It found that youth who have been apprehended or had contact with the CFS system face poorer life trajectories than those who have not had any contact with CFS. That includes a higher likelihood of homelessness and mental and emotional distress. Nearly 60 per cent of homeless youth who are street-involved report violent victimization, meaning they are six times more likely to be victimized compared with the general population, the report says.

“If I didn’t have the support of Futures Forward and RAY (Resource Assistance for Youth Inc.), I think I would have ended up homeless or, worst-case scenario, dead,” said 22-year-old Jon Sawatzky, who spent most of his life in foster care and group homes.

“It’s difficult for people who are in the system. I never used to be really aggressive, but going through the system kind of made me that way,” he said. “In every place, I’ve had to fight — you have to fight for survival.”

He aged out of the system at 21, and got help and guidance from Futures Forward and RAY to find a home, learn life skills and gain work experience.

“That was difficult,” Sawatzky said. “I’ve never had to do that stuff… I had a little anxiety.”

The Canadian Mental Health Association obtained federal funding for the pilot project. Thirteen youth were offered housing supports; seven were housed and provided supports, including help obtaining primary health care, mental health care, food security, identification, reducing harms associated with substance abuse and accessing addictions treatment.

Sawatzky was one of the seven who received the supports, and is still feeling the benefits.

“I had a lot of people who cared… They instilled in me that there’s people out there who do care. You just have to find the right ones who won’t mess around with you.”

The report makes recommendations to restore Indigenous self-determination and self-governance over child welfare, to prohibit apprehension of children based on poverty, to create more low-income social housing units and prevent discrimination from housing providers.

“There’s a lot of discrimination and prejudice towards young adults, especially when it’s clear they’re coming from system involvement,” Dunsmore said.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca