A public forum is taking place tomorrow(Tues) in Orillia about a problem that is often invisible.
An expert panel will be talking about youth homelessness and what has been done in their communities and organizations, and how a community the size of Orillia can address some of these factors.
Hazel O'Brien, a member of the Orillia Youth Opportunities Committee, that advises city council, says a survey of nearly 19-hundred Orillia area youth in 2016 was shocking.
294 youth reported that in the past two years they experienced some form of homelessness, the most common being couch surfing, while 92 said they had slept in a vehicle, 69 slept outside, 26 slept in an empty or abandoned building, and 30 in a shelter.
O'Brien says the goal of the forum is to find out what gaps need to be filled in Orillia and then go back to council with recommendations.
She says it will have to be more than what council can do for youth homelessness, but what the community can do.
Why young people aged 16 to 24 leave home is wide ranging, everything from home situations, addictions and other personal struggles.
While there are support networks in Orillia, there are no dedicated shelter beds for youth in the city.
Young people are often directed to Youth Haven in Barrie, which has also established an outreach team in Orillia.
O'Brien says there might be a need for an interim shelter while the Building Hope project gets off the ground.
She says Building Hope will address transitional housing including youth and emergency beds but it is still several years down the road.
The forum about youth homelessness is from 11:45 am until 2 pm at Orillia Secondary School.
