While the concept ‘youth homelessness’ conjures images of street kids sleeping in baggy clothes on street corners, this is rarely the case with respect to rural homelessness.
Cochrane was one of 20 Alberta communities with populations under 25,000 that were part of a study released this spring, entitled ‘Rural Alberta Homelessness’.
The study was conducted in partnership between the University of Calgary Faculty of Social Work and the Alberta Centre for Child, Family and Community Research.
When it comes to rural homelessness, the study made a number of findings — namely that homelessness is largely ‘hidden’ in the form of couch surfing and families ‘doubling up’ and that overall, Alberta rural homelessness is on the rise.
“Youth homelessness is a huge problem here,” said a Cochrane woman, mother of two, who has been housing a couch surfing teen since May; she has requested that she remain anonymous with the Eagle.
“I would love it if there was a group to connect with,” said the woman, adding that she is torn over whether she is helping or enabling this youth — who has had family struggles, as well as drug and alcohol issues.
The woman said she doesn’t know what the answer is to help teens who fall through the cracks, but said it is key for the community to be aware that youth homelessness is a reality and a growing problem here, as migration to the foothills town continues to explode.
A number of Cochranites reached out to the Eagle through social media; one of the biggest concerns voiced by many was the lack of affordable housing and the high cost of living in Cochrane.
Another local woman (who also wished to remain anonymous) has dealt with a cycle of poverty for many years.
A single mother of three, she recently welcomed her granddaughter to the equation, when her teenage daughter had an unplanned pregnancy.
She said that her family is in a ‘doubling up’ situation, with herself and her boyfriend, her youngest daughter (the other two have grown up and moved out), her daughter’s boyfriend and their four-month-old infant sharing a two bedroom condo.
“I don’t know what to do — I’ve looked online for places but they are so expensive,” she said, adding that she took her daughter to Cochrane Family Community and Support Services (FCSS) and was advised of the lengthy waitlist for affordable housing.
“I think sometimes in our world, we make assumptions about homelessness — but sometimes people are victims of circumstance and lots of times it’s not their fault,” said Rebca Zawde with Cochrane FCSS.
“It’s hard to nail down numbers because it’s largely hidden,” said Corinne Burns with the Cochrane Society for Housing Options (CSHO), who did say that as Cochrane continues to grow there is “(increasingly) more demand for our type of housing”.
The CSHO manages 25 units in Cochrane, which have seen little movement in recent years as, according to Burns, as “there is nowhere for those people to move to”.
Every month there are 30-50 applications for affordable housing (with rents 10 per cent below market value) filed with the CSHO; applicants must be 18 years of age and older.
At-risk youth who turn to the RCMP for help are directed to work with Cochrane and Area Victim Services Society, who in turn, direct youth to the Boys and Girls Club of Cochrane and Area (BGCC), as does Cochrane FCSS.
“There’s a reason why youth are homeless,” said Corp. Mel Calahasen with the Cochrane RCMP. “ Often they leave home on their own choice, due to circumstances (such as unhealthy living environments, abuse and addiction).
Calahasen said that often youth are afraid to turn to police for a number of reasons, including the fear of being returned to an unsuitable home life.
According to Adelle Forzley, youth programming coordinator with the BGCC, at any given time there is an estimated 30 homeless youth in Cochrane.
“Our reality is that (youth) are couch surfing, sleeping in cars and finding abandoned buildings to sleep in,” explained Forzley.
“It is a preconceived notion that youth leave home because they don’t want to follow rules,” said Forzley, adding that those youth normally return home within several days.
Most homeless youth have deeper problems than teen angst that need to be addressed — including family abuse, mental health issues, neglect, unhealthy living situations and addictions.
The BGCC conducted a needs assessment in Cochrane for youth who are homeless and are at-risk to become homeless; the research phase began 18 months ago and wrapped up in February.
The research included interviews and focus groups involving around 75 adults and 50 youth (aged 14-24), as well as persons working in the social services and education sectors.
Out of this, the Youth Emergency Support Services (YESS) program is being developed — a project that seeks to address youth homelessness through long-term strategic planning and is in its development phase with a steering committee at the helm.
The six goals of the project are:
-To establish leadership in the community (spreading the word that the BGCC is the place to go for at-risk youth and homeless youth)
-To secure resources and funding (to build relationships with community partners, individuals and local businesses who can help raise the funds necessary to build long-term solutions)
-To deliver housing first (modeled on a ‘safe couch program’, rather than a traditional group home; the BGCC would provide training and support resources not only for youth, but for families willing to house homeless youth)
-To focus on early intervention and prevention (according to Forzley, this is about “providing these services upstream so we don’t have to provide them downstream — or where youth are already homeless”)
-To incorporate research, data gathering and info sharing (to save resources by collaborating with databases in other rural Alberta communities with similar demographics)
-To achieve sustainability (namely to effectively establish long-term funding sources)
Like most projects put forth by non-profits, the ability to move forward is dependant on community sponsorship and support.
“There isn’t a lot of (government) monies available for families housing youth,” said Forzley, adding that the BGCC will apply for as many grants as possible, but the bulk of the funds will likely need to be raised at a grassroots level.
She is encouraging passionate members of the community to get in touch with her at [email protected].
The BGCC summer hours are Monday through Friday, regular business hours.
Youth at risk can call the emergency help line at 403-542-6435 after hours; the club is located at 111 5th Ave. West in Cochrane.
