Calgary Youth, Health and the Street

The Calgary Youth, Health and the Street study had two main purposes. First, the study aimed to describe the spectrum of street-involved youth in Calgary – from those youth who connect with street culture during occasional episodes to those youth who are firmly entrenched in street life – and explore variations among these different sub-populations in terms of HIV and health risks, coping mechanisms, and service needs. Second, the study aimed to develop and enhance existing services for street-involved youth by providing information that is useful to HIV and youth-service organizations in services planning.

From this study a series of fact sheets were developed around critical issues for street involved youth such as: education, housing needs, service needs, sexual health and more. The fact sheets and complete report can be found here. This is just a glimpse of a few findings:

1. 71% of youth surveyed had experienced some neglect or abuse and 92% of those had been abused on more than one occasion.
2. Condom use was inconsistent with only 26% reporting that they always used a condom. Injection drug use was reported among 21% of respondents with 29% of those reporting sharing of needles or equipment. Over 79% of respondents believed they were at low or no risk of contracting HIV.
3. There were two sets of perceptions about how youth became involved in street life as some youth indicated they chose to be on the street and some indicated they did not. The majority of youth who did not perceive they were on the street by choice associated their street involvement with family breakdown, dysfunction, and negative experiences in care. For those who perceived a more active role in becoming street involved, several youth described how decisions led them to be “kicked out” of home. Street peers and access to drugs and alcohol played a role for some in first becoming involved in street life, as well as maintaining street involvement.
4. The majority of the youth who participated in interviews could readily identify personal goals and changes they wanted to make for themselves. In particular, none of the interview respondents wanted to be on the street in the future. Many youth spoke of relationship goals, including being in a healthy relationship, getting married and having children. Many also indicated that these things could not be achieved under their current circumstances.

The full results of this study provide a snapshot of the lives of street youth within the Calgary community, and point to areas where there are differences among youth with different levels of street involvement. The street youth who participated in the study openly shared their experiences and the hope is that these data will contribute to a better understanding of the complexity of their lives, their strengths and challenges, and ways in which services could serve them better. Ongoing community discussion, research and planning are vital in order to better meet the needs of street-involved youth in Calgary.

To read the full study or fact sheets developed from the study, please visit the Resources section of our website.