This Was 2025: Breaking Barriers & Battling Youth Homelessness Together

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March 3 2026 • 4 min read
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Standing with the Sector. Standing with Young People.

As 2025 comes to a close, we reflect with immense pride, gratitude, and purpose on a transformative year for Youth Futures and the young people we support. From our Altone drop-in center to outreach programs, the NEST program for young parents, and crisis and transitional accommodation services, we’ve remained steadfast in our mission to ending youth homelessness and ensuring young people have access to support. Every achievement this year has been rooted in our trauma-informed, person-centered approach, ensuring young people receive the support they need, wherever they are on their journey.

Major Milestones of 2025

Opening Two New Services

This year, we proudly launched two major services:

  • Djinda: A crisis accommodation service for young people aged 15–19.
  • Brentwood: A nine-unit transitional accommodation program for 16–25-year-olds.

These services have already demonstrated the transformative power of flexible housing combined with wraparound support. We extend our heartfelt thanks to all stakeholders, partners, and sponsors who made these openings possible.

Altone Drop-In Centre

Our Altone Drop-In Centre continued to serve as a vital after-school engagement space for at-risk young people. While not part of our accommodation services, Altone provides early support, fostering connection, guidance, and community belonging.

SETS Program

Through the Settlement Engagement and Transition Support (SETS) program, we supported young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds. This initiative, part of our consortium partnership, focused on cultural safety, life skills, and community participation. By offering case management, group activities, and advocacy, we’ve helped young people navigate settlement challenges, strengthen independence, and build meaningful community connections.

NEST: Holistic Support for Young Parents

Our self-funded NEST program has continued to provide life-changing accommodation and outreach support for young parents. This year, the success of the Pipeline event, sponsored by Big Yellow, highlighted the community’s generosity. Funds raised directly contributed to housing stability, strengthened supports, and greater opportunities for young parents.
One young parent shared:“Without NEST, I’d probably still be struggling day to day with housing, money, and feeling isolated. NEST has given me practical help but also emotional support, which has made such a big difference.”

The Reality: Demand Outpaces Capacity

While we celebrate our achievements, we must also acknowledge the growing pressures young people face:

  • Over 150 young parents sought accommodation and support through NEST this year, but we were unable to meet the demand.
  • Across all accommodation services, we recorded over 1,500 young people we couldn’t support due to capacity constraints.

The housing crisis, cost-of-living pressures, and systemic shortages continue to place young people at significant risk. Despite these challenges, our team remains committed to offering stability, advocacy, and hope.

Emergency relief funding has been a critical tool in addressing these pressures, providing immediate, practical assistance to help young people maintain stability and access essentials during crisis points.

The Reality: Demand Outpaces Capacity

While we celebrate our achievements, we must also acknowledge the growing pressures young people face:

  • Over 150 young parents sought accommodation and support through NEST this year, but we were unable to meet the demand.
  • Across all accommodation services, we recorded over 1,500 young people we couldn’t support due to capacity constraints.

The housing crisis, cost-of-living pressures, and systemic shortages continue to place young people at significant risk. Despite these challenges, our team remains committed to offering stability, advocacy, and hope.

Emergency relief funding has been a critical tool in addressing these pressures, providing immediate, practical assistance to help young people maintain stability and access essentials during crisis points.

Strengthening Services and Improving Outcomes

This year, we implemented a new staffing structure to enhance service delivery and improve trauma-informed support. Key achievements include:

TINOCA is now open during the day, increasing access to support and connection.
Positive exits and transitions have visibly increased, with young people moving into healthier, more stable futures, including opportunities in study and employment.
Our collaborative internal model has shown its impact, with seven young people at Brentwood supported through internal pathways across Youth Futures.
One young person shared their journey:

“I think positively about my journey at Youth Futures and how far I’ve come. When I first arrived, I was in a really depressed state, but since then I’ve been able to rebuild my life. I’ve gotten back into school, started going to therapy, I’m no longer smoking, and even began reconnecting with family.”

A Young Person’s Journey: Six Years of Persistence, Partnership & Hope

One young person’s story this year captures the challenges and triumphs faced by those we support.

At age 15, they entered Youth Futures through our TINOCA crisis accommodation service. From there, they transitioned to our Transitional Accommodation Program (TAP South), received additional support through our HSW North Metro Program, and eventually moved into Brentwood.

In September 2025, after six years of persistence, advocacy, and partnership, they received a long-term housing allocation.

This journey reflects the complexity of accessing secure housing and the powerful outcomes achieved through collaboration, patience, and determination.

Gratitude to Our Partners, Stakeholders & Team

We are deeply grateful for the positive feedback and collaboration from our partners across the sector. This work cannot be done alone, and we remain committed to these partnerships as we move into 2026.

To our incredible team: thank you. Your commitment, compassion, and dedication to young people shape every success we celebrate. Your work changes lives, restores dignity, and builds brighter futures.

Looking Ahead to 2026

As we step into 2026, we do so with gratitude, determination, and hope. Our focus will remain on:

  • Developing programs to meet growing demand.
  • Strengthening partnerships across the sector.
  • Advocating for improved long-term housing pathways for young people.

Thank you to everyone—partners, supporters, donors, and community members—who has been part of this journey. Together, we are making a difference

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