A Way Home Canada and The Home Depot Canada Foundation brought youth leaders, policymakers and community organizations to Parliament Hill on Monday as part of a national advocacy effort aimed at advancing policies to prevent and end youth homelessness.
The organizations said the Opening Doors for Youth Advocacy Day included meetings with federal officials, cross-departmental discussions and participation in Question Period, with the stated goal of increasing collaboration on prevention-focused approaches to youth homelessness.
The event brought together Members of Parliament, senators, ministerial staff, parliamentary secretaries and senior public servants, according to the organizations. Discussions throughout the day involved representatives from Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada, Employment and Social Development Canada, Public Safety, Health Canada, Statistics Canada, and Women and Gender Equality Canada.
The advocacy campaign reflects a broader push by the organizations to position youth homelessness prevention as a long-term policy and systems issue, rather than one addressed primarily through emergency responses.
“This Advocacy Day reflects a shared commitment to ensuring that every young person in Canada has a safe, stable place to call home,” said Doug Graham, chair of The Home Depot Canada Foundation and vice-president of e-commerce and marketing at The Home Depot Canada.
“The Home Depot Canada Foundation and A Way Home Canada are bringing together youth voices, policymakers, and community leaders, to advance data driven, coordinated, prevention-focused solutions that can create lasting systems change.”
The organizations said the day’s agenda focused on encouraging federal leadership and coordination on youth homelessness prevention, with meetings designed to bring together multiple government departments involved in housing, health, employment and public safety policy.
The advocacy day concluded with an evening reception at the Global Centre for Pluralism in Ottawa, where government representatives, community organizations and other participants were expected to continue discussions around collaboration and policy approaches.
A Way Home Canada described the event as part of a broader national initiative undertaken with The Home Depot Canada Foundation to support prevention and early intervention efforts related to youth homelessness.
A Way Home Canada is a national coalition that works with governments, service providers and community organizations on policy and service approaches related to youth homelessness. The organization says its work focuses on shifting responses away from emergency-based approaches toward prevention-oriented models.
The Home Depot Canada Foundation said it has committed $125 million by 2030 toward initiatives aimed at preventing and ending youth homelessness in Canada. The foundation said its investments focus on housing, community support services and youth employment readiness programs.
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