We’re thrilled to share highlights from the International Conference on Youth Homelessness, which one of our postdocs, Benjamin Parry, recently attended! This marks the first event of its kind as researchers, practitioners, and policymakers worldwide gathered to discuss the future of youth homelessness prevention.
One of the most impactful aspects of the conference was its respect for the Indigenous communities of Canada, where the conference was held. This was not only uplifted in the opening ceremony where they had an Indigenous elder from a local tribe say a few words and lead the conference attendees in a song/ prayer, but they also had a dedicated room that was constantly open for folks to come and learn more about the Indigenous communities as well as acknowledging Indigenous Elders in the conference program.
The conference offered a strong balance between applied practice and academic research. Sessions emphasized not only what’s happening on the ground to prevent youth homelessness but also what policies need to be enacted to support long-term solutions. Presenters joined from across the globe, including Australia, Canada, the U.S., and the UK.
Our own team had the opportunity to present a 1-hour session on our ongoing research partnership with Covenant House. Representing our team were David Howard from CHI, Sahra, Coco, and our PostDoc. We discussed our rigorous, youth-informed approach to understanding and preventing homelessness among historically marginalized youth—LGBTQ+ youth of color, First Nations and Indigenous youth, Latino/a/x youth, immigrant youth, and pregnant or parenting youth.
We outlined how we built our work step-by-step: starting with a scoping review, which guided our focus group questions, followed by rapid analysis that directly informed the structure and content of our survey. We also highlighted the CHI summer internship program and received great questions about recruitment strategies and incorporating youth into deeper phases of our analysis. Our session drew around 40 attendees and generated thoughtful discussion.
One standout session featured Australian researchers Tommy Hand, David MacKenzie, and Jacqueline Sohn, who presented the Community of Schools and Services (COSS) model for early intervention. (Learn more here.)
Peter Mackie from the University of Cardiff (Wales) shared how his team’s research has influenced youth homelessness policy in Wales. (More on his work here.)
Although we missed this talk, we also want to uplift the keynote speaker, Stephen Gaetz—CEO and President of the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness and Scientific Director of Making the Shift. His research continues to shape the field. (Check out this recent webinar.)
The biggest takeaway for us was recognizing that across western countries, there are impactful, effective prevention strategies being implemented, but without spaces like this conference to share ideas, much of this work remains unrecognized. Many of these promising approaches face challenges due to shifting political climates and uncertain funding, making conferences such as this essential.
We’re incredibly grateful for the opportunity to connect, learn, and contribute. Here’s to the next one!
