Homelessness in the HRM is most definitely a problem that needs to be addressed, and I believe that the only way to effectively fix the problem is to begin with some kind of government funding. One of the largest problems that the homeless youth experience is the inability to actually go and try to get an education or a job, and this is because they have no actual stable residence. I think it is something too often overlooked in many educational systems, every stage of education assumes that the individual has a home (and often that the individual, especially in middle school, has stable guardians). With more thoroughly secure housing options; the homeless youth would not need to be homeless, and this would require a government backing, or it could be on a volunteer basis.
Another huge barrier for the youth on the street is the negative perception they have, and need to deal with on a daily basis. Think of it this way, teens are already treated with less respect than most of society due to their stereotyped behavior, so take that, and add onto it the stereotype of a homeless person. You will see that these youths living on the street must go through a painfully ignorant world every waking moment of the day, as they have 2 major defining stereotypes against them. The easiest way to remedy this situation is to have some of these teens speak at public places, a school for example, showing that they do not fit the negative image that has been portrayed by the media and forced into the minds of everyone.
Of course, all of the ideas listed above are doable in theory, but to pull anyone off the street, you first need to understand why they are on the street in the first place. Many youth are left homeless by “choice” as they run away from abusive or unsupportive family lives, and decide that they can fend for themselves better than their family could provide for them. Other young people on the streets are there simply because they have a mental illness and cannot hold down a job of any kind because of this. The solution for this problem is to get the youths in question into a protected environment where experts can administer psychiatric help to the youths.
Finally, to finish this whole thing off, I'd say we should move all the homeless youth next to a Wal-Mart or something, as most of them are living in Downtown Halifax, which is expensive for everyone. If we moved all the homeless people to a Wal-Mart then they could live fuller lives knowing that they could spend 45 cents to get a can of coke rather than 2 dollars downtown for a no-name brand.
