Better Prospects: Building knowledge and networks to improve employment outcomes for disabled youth experiencing homelessness
Community Engaged Research
Overview
Overview
abstract
The goal of this partnership is to systematically map the intersections between intellectual, developmental and learning disabilities, education, and employment among youth experiencing homelessness, in order to identify system-wide gaps and opportunities to develop interventions, improve policy, and further research. There is very little known about the number of disabled youth experiencing homelessness, the factors related to becoming homeless (including employment factors), their experiences of homelessness and needs for support. Homeless youth with intellectual, developmental and learning disabilities are a particularly vulnerable population, and a significantly under-reported and under-analyzed part of that population. In large part, this is because most studies assume that homelessness and disability are discrete experiences with unique populations requiring unique interventions. The result is a pervasive soiling of population-specific educational, housing and disability support, and employment services. Yet experiences of disability and homelessness do intersect and by failing to attend to this intersection, the needs of disabled youth experiencing homelessness for housing, support, education, and for sustainable and meaningful employment are not addressed. This project attends to this intersection through a collaboration that brings leading researchers on disability and homelessness together with partner organizations who offer educational support, housing and employment services to disabled and homeless youth in Hamilton, Toronto, and St. Catharines.
