Girl Pow-R’s “Galaxy” is all about leaving your mark on the world, and what better to do this than by saving it? There are many social causes that are often overlooked by the general populace, and one of them is youth homelessness.
In Canada today, there are more than 25,000 homeless youths. They are among the most vulnerable members of society and are among a group that is statistically more likely to get sick, commit suicide, use drugs or alcohol and engage in criminal activity.
Many risk factors can cause youth homelessness. An experience of childhood trauma, such as violence and abuse, is most often identified as the main culprit, because it can lead to several behavioural and mental issues, resulting in youth becoming homeless. Other risk factors include substance abuse; unstable family life; financial hardship; and a lack of affordable housing. An estimated one-third of Canada’s homeless population are young people and one-fifth are youths under the age of 16.
Youth homelessness has other causes such as unfit or unsafe living conditions and low-skilled jobs that do not pay liveable wages. It is an issue that affects all levels of society including individual families involved with the youths’ lives as well as social welfare systems such as schools that serve them daily.
This issue has a considerable impact on society. For one, there is an alarming rate of suicide attempts among homeless youths. They also struggle to find work and the vast majority of them are unemployed.
Homeless youths also face a lot of stigmas, as many of them, particularly those struggling to go through school often take steps to hide their poverty out of fear of being shamed by their peers.
An estimated 85.4 percent of homeless youths have reported feeling high levels of distress and depression. They lack adequate support to help them battle these issues.
The social services available to them have been stretched thin, as most shelters have already been filled to capacity, leaving many to survive in less-than-ideal conditions.
So what can be done to tackle youth homelessness in Canada? Girl Pow-R’s songs try to spread love and foster understanding between people no matter who they are, and to do that, breaking down subconscious prejudice is the first step. There are a lot of negative stereotypes about homeless youths. The most common ones are:
Homeless people just don’t want to work: This opinion is more common than you’d think, and it is simply not true. Many homeless people work minimum wage jobs, but these jobs aren’t enough to afford rent and other basic amenities. It is also difficult for them to get higher paying jobs because they don’t have the skillset required, and those that do often face stigmatization by employers.
They are a danger to society: Homeless youths are usually the victims of crime. Most of them are regular people trying to live day to day and survive.
They are homeless on purpose: This is another myth that is simply not true. Youth homelessness is often caused by poor living conditions or an abusive environment. They are youths who run away from home to escape abusive parents.
The next question is what can we do about youth homelessness in Canada?
The first and most important thing is to create awareness. That is what Girl Pow-R does through music. Girl Pow-R’s hit song “Galaxy” seeks to inspire you, to let you know that “there is so much you can achieve” and that “Your power is extraordinary”. Nothing is too little. Simply talking and giving a caring listening ear to a homeless person is miles better than ignoring them.
There is so much you can achieve in this fight against homelessness. You can donate items you don’t need, basic amenities that you can do without. Got old clothes and shoes? Don’t throw them out, there’s someone out there who needs them.
To learn more about Youth homelessness, check out Youth Without Shelter’s website here.
The rise in homelessness is an issue not many people think about in their daily lives, and that’s why it’s very important to Girl Pow-R to inspire others to take action through music.
Have a look at Girl Pow-R’s website or contact them at info(at)girlpow-r.com. Be sure to catch their latest songs on Youtube and subscribe to get notified immediately. Don’t forget to like and share their music on Spotify.