Absolutely. There is definitely a link between housing and mental health. Not only does lack of housing impact mental health, but if you are struggling with your mental health, that can also oftentimes impact your ability to secure market housing for a variety of reasons, whether that is cost or lack of supports to help you maintain that housing.
So when it comes to mental health, what we really need is a system of complex-care housing, a continuum of housing that meets the diverse needs of those people who are living with mental health conditions, whether those are diagnosed or undiagnosed. What we know is that adolescence—the population we serve—is a time when mental health challenges often start to emerge. We need to be able to support these young people where they're at, using a continuum of options, whether that is fully supported housing where the units are staffed 24-7—sometimes it's more commonly known as mental-health housing—all the way to market housing where these young people choose to be but have supports available to them when they struggle or just someone to check in with. These are young people with growing, developing brains who are beginning their journey into adulthood, and we need to have options for them.
It's very difficult, especially in the market in Vancouver—where we're serving young people—where the rent rates are astronomical and the availability of units is so slim. We need an investment in housing. However, not only do we need an investment in housing, but also we need to ensure that a certain number of units are saved for young people and that there are buildings that are specific to adolescents.
What we know is that, when their units are just inside adult buildings, our young people don't feel safe. They're at higher risk of exploitation, specifically our young women. Some of them believe that the streets are safer than some of those adult buildings where they're being exploited behind closed doors, so making sure that we have youth-specific housing is extremely important.