Good morning.
I would like to acknowledge the previous speaker and thank her for her words.
I know that you're all doing such amazing work out there.
My name is Chelsea Minhas, and I am the director of clinical services and complex care at Covenant House Vancouver.
I'm very grateful to be joining you today from the traditional lands of the Katzie, Kwantlen, Matsqui and Semiahmoo first nations.
Covenant House Vancouver was established in 1997 and is a leading expert dedicated to serving homeless and at-risk youth in the city of Vancouver and surrounding areas. We have values rooted in unconditional love and absolute respect. We offer a continuum of services using evidence-based theories and practices that ensure that we care for the whole person—mind, body, and spirit.
Our team creates individualized case plans with young people, each of which is tailored to meet the specific needs of youth using a one-size, fits-one approach. Our continuum currently includes street outreach, a drop-in centre, and a crisis program with over 60 beds, a supportive housing program that will expand to 44 beds in late spring. We are also in the process of opening stabilization beds and a low-barrier shelter.
We are also developing a specialized training and support system for trafficked and exploited youth with the support of WAGE Canada. We serve approximately 1,000 unique youth between the ages of 16 and 24 per year, and approximately 30% of those young people identify as LGBTQ, and approximately 30% of our young people identify as indigenous. Approximately 35% of our young people served identify as female, and 11% identify as trans and gender diverse.
There are many unique needs of the female identified population. Women and girls are a part of the hidden homeless population who are at an increased risk of such things as exploitation and trafficking. They are often overlooked in the statistics extrapolated from typical homeless counts. Women and girls are three times as likely to harm themselves and be hospitalized for self-harm behaviours.
More than half of Canadian youth and nearly two-thirds of young women feel that their anxiety, depression and stress levels are higher now than they ever have been before. Women and girls are often left behind in many areas of medicine, and mental health is no different. Many treatments are designed with men in mind and do not meet the unique needs of young women and girls.
The mental health of women and girls is often minimized by gendered language such as over-emotional and dramatic, and this is especially prevalent in the adolescent population where it's often minimized to be written off as over-hormonal teen girls. Women experience higher rates of intimate partner and gendered violence, sexual trauma and coercion, which has significant mental health impacts.
At Covenant House we have seen a substantial increase in the number of young women reporting sexual violence. At this time we have also seen an increase in the number of young women seeking shelter in our buildings. Our beds are full, and we are turning away young women for the first time in our 25-year history. We need support to open more beds and services for these young women.
Not only does being homeless and at risk of being homeless contribute to mental health, but it also impacts one's journey to wellness. It is very difficult to address and engage one's mental health when you are in a fight-or-flight response or trying to get your very basic needs met.
Twenty per cent of the Canadian homeless population is aged 13 to 24, and 35,000 to 45,000 youth experience homelessness every year in this country.
The overdose crisis is impacting young women as well. We are losing women and girls, and we must do better. We cannot ignore the intersection of mental health and substance use.
There are things we can do, and here are some of our recommendations: Invest in complex care housing as a part of a system of care and housing continuum of care that combines housing and support services under one roof. In the case of young people, there needs to be an expertise in adolescent development inside these organizations. An adult system cannot simply be put onto youth.
Multiple studies have shown that investing in complex care housing reduces other taxpayer-funded expenses relating to social services, health care, legal issues and shelters.
We are also asking that the parliamentary committees undertake a study to investigate and make recommendations on the challenges and systemic barriers facing youth at risk of becoming homeless.
We also recommend that 20% of all funding for housing goes towards youth up to the age of 30.