A Way Home Canada and the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness have partnered to support frontline workers’ efforts and provide guidance tailored to the unique needs of young people who are experiencing homelessness or who are provisionally housed. These are challenging times for organizations who are delivering direct services to young people at risk of or who are currently experiencing homelessness. This means that our response to COVID-19 must also take into account the unique physical, emotional, social, and cultural needs of young people. This blog on the Homeless Hub offers an outline of our continuous efforts.

About this page:

Through the Homelessness Learning Hub, we hope to share timely, relevant, and evidence-based information to the youth homelessness sector, and show examples of what is being done in communities (e.g., case studies and how-tos). The forum will provide channels to support real-time knowledge exchange between members of the sector.

We assembled these resources to help you and your organization continue to deliver vital services to young people, in spite of the current pandemic. Check back often, as we will continue to update this list based on the changing needs of the sector.

Steps you can take:

1. Read the summary report on COVID-19 and Youth Homelessness, based on results from the first sector needs survey we released in April.
2. Take a moment to complete the second sector needs survey so that we have the most up to date information about your needs.
3. Sign up for weekly real-time community of practice calls. They take place every Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. EST and are designed for frontline staff to troubleshoot ideas, share information, and learn from one another. You can find notes from these calls below.

Have some questions?

Head over to the Discussion Forum to dive deeper with targeted questions.

Have a resource you would like to share with the sector? 

Please email info@awayhome.ca.

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THIS PAGE INCLUDES RESOURCES ON:

1. Community of Practice Calls – Notes
2. Government Funding and Other Funds
3. Case Management
   • Referrals
   • Indigenous Programming
   • Outreach
   • Housing
   • Home Visits
   • Equity
4. Agency Operations
5. Safety
   • Symptoms and Screening
   • Triaging
   • Protection from COVID-19
   • Social Distancing, Isolating, Quarantining
   • Harm Reduction
6. Supports for Youth
7. Pandemic and Systems Planning
8. Legal and Justice
9. Self-Care

**Click CTRL+F to search the page for key words**

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RESOURCES

1. Community of Practice Calls – Notes

• Tuesday, April 7, 2020
• Tuesday, April 14, 2020
• Tuesday, April 28, 2020
• Tuesday, May 5, 2020
• Tuesday, May 12, 2020
• NEW Tuesday, May 26, 2020

2. Government Funding and Other Funds

• For students:
  • A 6-month, interest-free moratorium on the repayment of Canada Student Loans (Government of Canada)
  • Supports for Students and New Grads Affected by COVID-19: Including the proposed Canada Emergency Student Benefit, the new Canada Student Service Grant, and other measures. (Government of Canada)
• For youth in care:
  • ON HOLD Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada grant for former youth in care: $1000 to former youth in care to help support them through the COVID-19 pandemic. (Children’s Aid Foundation Canada)
• For Indigenous youth:
  • Indigenous Community Support Fund (Government of Canada)
  • #IndigenousYouthRise COVID-19 Support Fund: Offers up to $500 for online projects that occur in Canada and are Indigenous Youth led (ages 13-30) (We Matter Campaign)
• Reaching Home:
  • Enhanced Reaching Home Funding (Government of Canada)
  • Updated Reaching Home Directives (Government of Canada)
• Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB):
  • Annotated Screenshots of the CERB Application (Jennifer Robson, Associate Professor of Political Management, Carleton University)
• Plain Language Explainer of Federal Emergency Funds: This document also contains information on provincial and territorial supports available for individuals currently facing challenges paying rent. (Jennifer Robson, Associate Professor of Political Management, Carleton University)

3. Case Management

• Referrals

  • COVID-19 Referral Flow Chart (SSHA, City of Toronto)

• Indigenous Programming

  • New Ways of Running Indigenous/Friendship Centre Programming (National Association of Friendship Centres)

• Outreach

  • Street Outreach in Light of COVID-19: Tips and Tricks: This resource includes guidance for how to engage with young people remotely, suggestions for individuals engaged in sex work, and sample policies and procedures (NN4Y)

• Housing

  • CAEH One-Pagers on: Prevention Eviction, Finding and Securing Housing in a Pandemic (CAEH)

• Home Visits

  • CAEH One-Pager on:Home Visits During a Pandemic (CAEH)

• Equity

  • COVID-19 – Racial Equity & Social Justice Resources: Includes tools and resources on healing and community care, organizing and solidarity, resource building and rapid response, and remote work and online engagement (Racial Equity Tools, based in the United States)

4. Agency Operations

• Guidance for Homelessness Shelters in Ontario [last updated April 2, 2020] (Government of Ontario) 
• Guidance for providers of services for people experiencing homelessness (Government of Canada)
• COVID-19 Response Plan Guidance for Homeless Shelters: Recommendations around intake/screening, meals, COVID-19/handwashing signage, etc (BC Housing)
• CAEH One-Pager on: Staff Recruitment (CAEH)

5. Safety

• Symptoms and Screening

  • Symptoms & Screening Procedures: For Providers Working with Youth Experiencing Homelessness (UC Berkeley SPH COVID-19 Community Action Team)
  • COVID-19 Screening Tool for Shelter Staff (Street CCRED)

• Triaging

  • Triage: What Providers for Youth Experiencing Homelessness Need to Know Webinar (UC Berkeley SPH COVID-19 Community Action Team)

• Protection from COVID-19

  • How to Use Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) (UC Berkeley SPH COVID-19 Community Action Team)
  • CAEH One-Pager on: Promoting Healthy Practices (CAEH)
  • YESS Cotton Facemask Policy (Youth Empowerment and Support Services)

• Social Distancing, Isolating, Quarantining

  • Policy and Procedures to Enforce Isolation in Shelters: Information on how to set up isolation sites for people experiencing homelessness. (City of Toronto)
  • CAEH One-Pager on: Meaningful Activities that Respect Social Distancing (CAEH)
  • YESS Self-Isolation and Quarantine Policy (Youth Empowerment and Support Services)

• Harm Reduction 

  • COVID-19 Harm Reduction Tips (City of Toronto)
  • COVID-19 Harm Reduction and Overdose Response (BC Centre for Disease Control)
  • Supporting Harm Reduction in COVID-19 Shelter and Self-Isolation Webinar (CAEH)
  • COVID-19 Harm Reduction Resources: Includes easy to read guidance and guidelines around “Sex and COVID-19”, “COVID-19 and Ceremonial Spiritual Practices”, and “Safer Drinking Tips During COVID-19”, among others. (Canadian Drug Policy Coalition)

6. Supports for Youth

• Queerantine 101: All of your COVID-19 LGBTQI2S Resources in one place! (Egale)
• Toolkit for Indigenous Youth: An 8-step toolkit that includes short videos on topics like bullying, depression, anxiety, self-care, culture, and community. (We Matter Campaign)
• Pandemic Planning Template (YES Shelter for Youth and Families)
• Emergency Numbers Template (YES Shelter for Youth and Families)
• Harm Reduction Info for Youth: Includes one-pagers with advice for young people who use drugs during the COVID-19 pandemic, tips on digital platforms to help with social distancing, and self-care (Youth RISE)

7. Pandemic and Systems Planning

• Learning Hub Forum – Pandemic Planning Preparedness: COVID-19: Access relevant community resources and ask researchers and experts from the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness any questions. (Homelessness Learning Hub)
• Canadian Network for the Health and Housing of People Experiencing Homelessness (CNH3) resources on COVID-19: An extensive list of community resources, including a response framework, fact sheets and printable posters, and sample protocols and procedures you can use in your community to prepare for and respond to a COVID-19 outbreak, particularly in shelters. (CNH3)
• Community Mobilization Around COVID-19 Webinar: Dr. Alina Turner discusses emerging practices in the activation of civil society to support COVID19 social responses for systems and community leaders. Lori Harasem from the City of Lethbridge covers on-the-ground efforts mobilizing the community in a coordinated and agile manner. (HelpSeeker)
• COVID-19 Resources for Municipalities (Federation of Canadian Municipalities)
• CAEH One-Pagers on: Requesting Leadership and Support from Local Public Health Authorities and Coordinated Access in a Pandemic (CAEH and CHN3)
• COVID-19 Response for Unsheltered Homeless People Webinar (CAEH)

8. Legal and Justice

• COVID-19 Emergency Measures Laws & Public Spaces in Ontario: Includes information on possible fines. (Justice for Children and Youth and Street Youth Legal Services)
• COVID-19: JFCY update and links to legal information (Justice for Children and Youth)

9. Self-Care

• CAEH One-Pagers on: Maintaining Staff Morale, Self-Care in a Crisis (CAEH)

Last updated: May 29th, 2020