Youth homelessness in Alberta demands better prevention and faster intervention, says child advocate
Alberta's Office of the Child and Youth Advocate released a report based on stories from 156 young people who experienced homelessness, highlighting systemic gaps in support.
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Better measures are needed to prevent youth from becoming homeless and faster intervention to stop young people from becoming entrenched in homelessness, according to Alberta's Office of the Child and Youth Advocate.
A special report released Wednesday, titled "A Place to Belong," collected stories from 156 people between the ages of 12 to 24 who were, or had been, unhoused. The stories paint a picture of young people caught between family breakdown, neglect, abuse, and systems that move them around rather than keep them rooted.
"Tell people we're not bad kids," said one unidentified 17-year-old youth in the report. "We just didn't have anywhere else to go."
The community engagement process, which began in July 2025, collected stories from youth throughout Alberta — Edmonton, Calgary, Edson, Grande Prairie, Fort McMurray, Lethbridge, and First Nations communities.
About 35 per cent of the young people the office spoke with identified as 2SLGBTQ+, aligning with national statistics suggesting this group is overrepresented among those experiencing homelessness. About 45 per cent identified as Indigenous, reflecting what the report describes as "the overrepresentation of Indigenous youth within the unhoused population." The report noted that about 40 per cent of the young people had some level of involvement with the justice system, and approximately 65 per cent experienced some kind of government intervention.
Many became homeless due to family breakdown — involving conflict, neglect, or the need to escape emotional, physical, or sexual abuse. Contributing factors included parents' mental health or substance use challenges, family violence, the death of a caregiver, or young people's sexual or gender identity conflicts with their families.
One 21-year-old person called on institutions and governments to better support communities so they are empowered to take care of their own children. "Create space for healing, for connection," the youth said. "Let kids stay in their communities and stop moving us around all the time."