New report highlights system failures creating pathways to youth homelessness

A new report is sounding the alarm on youth homelessness in Winnipeg.

Resource Assistance for Youth (RaY) released the report, titled ‘Call Us When Somebody Dies,’ to highlight the gaps in the city’s youth care system. The goal of the report is to show which systems are broken, suggest how they can be improved, and hold people accountable.

Matthew Altieri, the report's co-author, said the name of the report came from an experience the RaY street outreach team had with a paramedic when responding to an alleged overdose.

“In a conversation with the paramedic, they were told to only call the paramedics when somebody has died,” he said.

“As part of the purpose of this research project, we thought it was a good instance to demonstrate because we want to find solutions and supports that are prevention-based and will occur before somebody dies.”

Through interviews with frontline staff across a number of departments, including housing, education, mental health and street outreach, the report identifies a number of ways Winnipeg youth systems are failing. These failures include a lack of coordination and communication; a lack of transitional support; discriminatory or inadequate policies; and insufficient capacity.

The report shows these failures impact youth by creating a risk of homelessness, a lack of access to basic needs, and a mistrust in systems. It also causes the youth to have deteriorating mental health, compromised safety, and puts their access to services on hold.

The report outlines a number of possible solutions, which fall into three categories: improved exit planning, providing frontline workers with more training opportunities and holistic mental health supports, and adequate funding for social services.

In a statement, the City of Winnipeg said the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service (WFPS) takes all public concerns seriously.

The statement notes that the WFPS is not aware of any complaints from RaY, and will be reaching out to the organization to get a better understanding of any concerns and circumstances described in the report.

The full report can be found online.