Targeted Call: Covid-19 and Youth Homelessness Prevention

Objective

Making the Shift is seeking proposals for innovative and original research projects that address the implications of COVID-19 on youth homelessness. Proposed projects should generate knowledge that will inform our current response to the pandemic, the recovery phase, and the future of our response to youth homelessness, and in particular the necessity of making the shift to prevention. Successful proposals should be designed to begin as soon as possible after notification of award. Submissions may be entered by an individual or a team. Priority will be given to projects that have strong partnerships and include people with lived experience of youth homelessness. Matching funds in the form of cash or in-kind contributions are encouraged.

Background and Scope

For many young people at risk of, or who are experiencing homelessness, COVID-19 has had a drastic impact on their lives. The service environments as well as public and private spaces that young people may access can increase their risk of contracting the Coronavirus. Additionally, the pandemic may have a negative impact on the health and well-being of such youth, and their access to necessary services and supports. For young people, whose experience of homelessness differs from that of adults, it is important that solutions to youth homelessness be designed to meet the needs of developing adolescents and young adults. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted for many the need to move away from a response focusing on emergency services, to one that prioritizes prevention and sustainable exits from homelessness. The research generated by this call is intended to enhance our knowledge about how to provide better supports to young people who are precariously housed, at risk of homelessness and those experiencing homelessness.

Making the Shift is offering up to $40,000 per grant for time-sensitive research proposals with a focus on COVID-19 in the context of youth homelessness prevention.

Potential areas of focus include, but are not limited to:

• What challenges do youth at risk of or experiencing homelessness in Canada face during a pandemic? Do vulnerable sub-populations (e.g., young people with disabilities, Indigenous youth) face unique challenges?
• Reflecting on the first wave of self-isolation and a potential for a recurrence in the fall of 2020, what prevention measures should be researched to support a potential second round of self-isolation (e.g., quick access to housing, family and natural supports, mental health support, interpersonal violence prevention, evictions prevention)? What measures or changes to services or models of delivery occurred during the first phase that should be sustained?
• What are some of the legal and justice implications of Canada’s COVID-19 response for young people at risk of or experiencing homelessness?
• What impact did the ban on eviction orders have on young people, and what happened during the transition period to post-isolation? What supports are necessary for precariously housed youth to avoid homelessness in the future and in the context of future pandemics?
• In the context of the recovery phase of the pandemic, what should our response to youth homelessness look like?

How to Apply

Complete proposal and budget template and submit via the Application Portal.

• Proposal Form (Word)
• Budget Template (XLS)

Please refer to the application guidelines here.

• Please note that the application portal does not save your information. Please make sure to have all information on hand when you are ready to apply.
• Please make sure to submit only one application per proposal through the portal. For any changes to an already submitted application prior to the deadline, please contact us at MtSfunding@yorku.ca