Canada is letting down young people in care
To Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and all Canadians:
I’m a12-year-old boy living in Toronto. A brother, a son, a grandson, a student, a hockey player and a former foster child.
There have been a number of recent studies on the foster care system in Canada and the lives of youth who age out of care. I have read some of the reports on these studies and have found them disappointing and shocking. Mostly because this is Canada and it is supposed to be one of the best countries or even the best country in the world.
How can we let this happen to our youth? If you haven’t read the reports, some of the facts are: about 60 per cent of homeless youth were part of the child welfare system; only 44 per cent of Crown wards complete high school compared to 81per cent of youth in the general population. In one province, it was found that 90 per cent of youth were on welfare within six months of aging out of care.
This means that, of the approximately 44,000 young people who are currently in foster care, as many as 24,200 will not complete high school and up to 39,600 may end up on welfare. This is completely unacceptable.
I ask you to imagine what it must be like growing up as a teenager in a foster care or group home, knowing you will soon age out of care. The home, food and any other support that has been provided to you will be gone and you will need to rely entirely on yourself.
One of the reasons this seems so unfair is that the recent census found that about 35 per cent of young adults in the general population in Canada and 42 per cent in Ontario are living with at least one parent. How can we expect former youth in care to survive as young adults entirely on their own, with no financial or emotional support?
I was in a debate camp for four weeks this summer and have learned that my voice can be a good tool to solve problems. I am writing this to bring attention to this problem and to ask for your help in solving it. It is in your power to begin addressing this problem.
We need to promote fostering and adoption of youth in care. We need to dedicate more finances to support their homes, activities and education. We need to increase the age of care and financial sup- port well beyond 18 or 21 years of age. We need to provide more mental health and emotional support to youth in care and to those aging out of care.
I realize that you, as political leaders, can’t solve this on your own. We as Canadians need to each do our part — to care a little more for children and youth in care and especially young adults aging out of care. They need our support and with that support we can change their lives.
I can’t imagine what it would be like if I hadn’t been adopted. Chances are I would never finish high school and would have ended up homeless. Each time I walk by a homeless person on the street, I wonder if they were in foster care. I am writing this because I truly believe that as a community we can change this.