Youth homelessness is on the rise in Canada. Despite ongoing efforts, young people aged 12-24 make up approximately 20% of the homeless population across the country.
Over the course of the year, around 40,000 youth experience homelessness — up to 7,000 youth on any given night.
The issues facing young people experiencing homelessness are complex, and many youth face systemic barriers and discrimination that restrict their access to support services.
To help in the fight against youth homelessness, The Home Depot Canada Foundation is working with community partners to break cycles of inequity, remove barriers and enable youth at risk of — or currently experiencing — homelessness to achieve positive life outcomes and realize their full potential.
Courtesy of The Home Depot Canada Foundation
With the help of community partners across the country, The Home Depot Canada Foundation works to create new paths for youth to exit homelessness by investing in the organizations that provide the most effective solutions.
The Foundation has already invested $50 million in housing, employment and life skills, prevention and research. They've also pledged to invest $125 million by 2030.
This includes providing funding to renovation projects that improve housing stability, organizations that increase employment readiness, and holistic initiatives that support underrepresented youth including Black, Indigenous, female-identified and gender diverse, 2SLGBTQIA+, and new Canadians.
Courtesy of The Home Depot Canada Foundation
One way The Home Depot Canada Foundation supports youth-serving charities is through the bi-annual Orange Door Project customer fundraising campaign, which just wrapped up on December 18, 2022. 100% of funds raised in-store or online through this year's campaign went to support 126 youth-serving charities, granting out $1.317M.
Recently, the Foundation launched a new creative campaign. This new creative brings awareness to issues youth face and works to educate supporters on what their dollars do, sharing relevant examples of youth embarking on pathways for a brighter future.
The Home Depot Canada Foundation relies on the help of store associates, suppliers and customers (that's you) to make this work happen.
You can help support the Foundation's efforts by giving through their donation page. You can donate as little as $3 or, if you're able, you can set up a monthly donation.
You can also visit your nearest store to learn more about the work of The Home Depot Canada Foundation.
To learn more about The Home Depot Canada Foundation, visit their website. You can also keep up to date with the Foundation on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.