Youth Homelessness Prevention Toolkit

  • Prevention
  • Youth Homelessness

Youth Homelessness Prevention Toolkit

The Youth Homelessness Prevention Toolkit helps Community Entities take practical steps to prevent youth homelessness. It includes resources to guide funding decisions, engage Community Advisory Boards, and shift services upstream as part of a broader community response to homelessness.

The Case for Youth Homelessness Prevention in Canada

  • Youth (ages 13–24) make up 20% of Canada’s homeless population.
  • At least 35,000 youth experience homelessness each year.
  • 40% of homeless youth had their first experience of homelessness before the age of 16.
  • 44% of all people experiencing homelessness had their first experience before the age of 25.
  • Indigenous youth (30.6%), 2SLGBTQ+ youth (29.5%), and racialized youth (28.6%) are overrepresented.

The cost of supporting someone during homelessness is significantly higher than preventing it. Early intervention reduces long-term harm for individuals and eases pressure on public systems.

Access the Factsheet


    Causes of Youth Homelessness

    • Family breakdown, conflict or abuse
    • Aging out of child welfare
    • Discharge from public systems like a prison or hospital
    • Colonialism, racism, sexism, and trans/homophobia
    • Poverty and precarious housing
    • School disengagement

    Findings from the Without A Home study show youth who leave home at an early age are more likely to experience multiple episodes of homelessness or become chronically homeless, along with a range of other serious consequences.

    Addressing these factors requires comprehensive strategies that encompass prevention, intervention, and support services tailored to the unique needs of homeless youth.

    Homelessness prevention means taking action before a young person becomes homeless.

    It includes primary prevention to stop homelessness before it starts, secondary prevention to intervene early during first experiences and ensure they don’t transition to chronic homelessness, and tertiary prevention to support stable exits and prevent returns.

    Visit the Homeless Hub to learn more


    Key Resources

    Why Prevention Works—and What It Looks Like

    Prevention helps young people stay connected to family, school, and community—before a crisis leads to homelessness. It means acting early, coordinating supports, and building on young people’s strengths to create lasting stability.

    Access the latest research evidence

    Resource

    Without a Home – The National Youth Homelessness Survey

    • Research and Evaluation
    • Youth Homelessness
    Resource

    Preventing Youth Homelessness in Canada – The Way Forward

    • Systems Planning
    • Youth Homelessness

    Community Systems Planning

    Preventing youth homelessness requires strong local systems, sustained funding, and shared responsibility among service providers, governments, schools, and community organizations. Community Entities (CEs) play a central role in this work through Reaching Home. They lead community-level planning, implement Coordinated Access, invest in solutions, and use data to drive outcomes.

    This section provides tools and research to support community systems planning, including:

    • Evidence-based prevention models and evaluation findings
    • Resources to support funding decisions and data-driven outcomes
    • Guidance for integrating Indigenous-led approaches

    Coordinated Access

    A system-level approach to ensure access, assessment, prioritization, and matching across providers using real-time data and community pathways.

    Youth Homelessness Prevention Initiative Needs Assessment

    Summary of survey findings on service provider readiness to adopt prevention-based interventions.
    report cover

    Resource

    Using Evidence to Drive Community-Level Outcomes

    • Systems Planning
    • Youth Homelessness
    Collection of resources

    Systems Planning Collective Learning Modules

    • Systems Planning
    Collection of resources

    Making Zero Count

    • Systems Planning

    Evidence-Based Solutions

    With sustained investment and strong local partnerships, communities can implement proven strategies to prevent youth homelessness. These solutions focus on strengthening support networks, stabilizing housing, and creating coordinated systems of care that help young people thrive. Effective approaches include:

    Visit the Homeless Hub to learn more

    Program Model Guides and Training

    The Making the Shift Youth Homelessness Social Innovation Lab, co-led by A Way Home Canada and the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness, have developed evidence-based program models to prevent youth homelessness. These guides and training resources offer practical support to implement key approaches to youth homelessness prevention.

    Access the infographic

    Collection of resources

    Family and Natural Supports

    • Exiting Homelessness
    • Prevention
    • Service Delivery
    Collection of resources

    Housing First for Youth (HF4Y)

    • Youth Homelessness
    Training

    Reconnect 101: Early Intervention in Schools

    3 hoursFoundationFree
    • Youth Homelessness
    Training

    Upstream Canada

    3 hoursIntroductionFree
    • Youth Homelessness
    Training

    Duty to Assist

    3 hoursIntermediateFree
    • Prevention

    Training and Technical Assistance

    Strengthen frontline capacity to deliver prevention-focused supports for youth.

    In Person Training

    Additional Supports

    • Consultation and coaching
    • Fidelity reviews
    • Community of practice calls

    Learn more about training and technical assistance