IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0273502.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

“I feel like I’m in a revolving door, and COVID has made it spin a lot faster”: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on youth experiencing homelessness in Toronto, Canada

Author

Listed:
  • Amanda Noble
  • Benjamin Owens
  • Naomi Thulien
  • Amanda Suleiman

Abstract

Purpose: Research has shown that youth experiencing homelessness (YEH) face barriers to social inclusion and are at risk for poor mental health. With the COVID-19 pandemic threatening the health, wellbeing, and economic circumstances of people around the world, this study aims to assess the impacts of the pandemic on YEH in Toronto, Ontario, as well as to identify recommendations for future waves of COVID-19. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with YEH (ages 16–24, n = 45) and staff who work in one of four downtown emergency shelters for youth (n = 31) in Toronto, Ontario. Results: YEH experienced both structural changes and psychosocial impacts resulting from the pandemic. Structural changes included a reduction in services, barriers to employment and housing, and changes to routines. Psychosocial outcomes included isolation, worsened mental health, and increased substance use. Impacts were magnified and distinct for subpopulations of youth, including for youth that identified as Black, 2SLGBTQ+, or those new to Canada. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic increased distress among YEH while also limiting access to services. There is therefore a need to balance health and safety with continued access to in-person services, and to shift the response to youth homelessness to focus on prevention, housing, and equitable supports for subpopulations of youth.

Suggested Citation

  • Amanda Noble & Benjamin Owens & Naomi Thulien & Amanda Suleiman, 2022. "“I feel like I’m in a revolving door, and COVID has made it spin a lot faster”: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on youth experiencing homelessness in Toronto, Canada," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(8), pages 1-18, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0273502
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273502
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0273502
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0273502&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0273502?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dechief, Diane & Oreopoulos, Philip, 2012. "Why do some employers prefer to interview Matthew but not Samir? New evidence from Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver," CLSSRN working papers clsrn_admin-2012-8, Vancouver School of Economics, revised 19 Feb 2012.
    2. Ford, Chandra L. & Airhihenbuwa, Collins O., 2010. "The public health critical race methodology: Praxis for antiracism research," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(8), pages 1390-1398, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jessica Allen & Tracy Smith-Carrier & Victoria Smye & Rebecca Gewurtz & Roxanne Isard & Rebecca Goldszmidt & Carrie Anne Marshall, 2024. "Experiences of mental health and poverty in high-income countries during COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-aggregation," PLOS Mental Health, Public Library of Science, vol. 1(5), pages 1-22, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Anthony Edo & Nicolas Jacquemet & Constantine Yannelis, 2019. "Language skills and homophilous hiring discrimination: Evidence from gender and racially differentiated applications," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 349-376, March.
    2. Malat, Jennifer & Mayorga-Gallo, Sarah & Williams, David R., 2018. "The effects of whiteness on the health of whites in the USA," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 148-156.
    3. Margaret Maurer-Fazio & Sili Wang, 2018. "Does marital status affect how firms interpret job applicants’ un/employment histories?," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 39(4), pages 567-580, July.
    4. Guliz Akkaymak, 2017. "A Bourdieuian Analysis of Job Search Experiences of Immigrants in Canada," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 657-674, May.
    5. Young, Maria-Elena De Trinidad & Sudhinaraset, May & Tafolla, Sharon & Nakphong, Michelle & Yan, Yueqi & Kietzman, Kathryn, 2024. "The “disproportionate costs” of immigrant policy on the health of Latinx and Asian immigrants," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 353(C).
    6. Susumu Imai & Derek Stacey & Casey Warman, 2019. "From engineer to taxi driver? Language proficiency and the occupational skills of immigrants," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 52(3), pages 914-953, August.
    7. repec:osf:socarx:e5hfc_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Anthony Edo & Nicolas Jacquemet, 2013. "Discrimination à l'embauche selon l'origine et le genre : défiance indifférenciée ou ciblée sur certains groupes ?," Économie et Statistique, Programme National Persée, vol. 464(1), pages 155-172.
    9. Monica Boyd & Siyue Tian, 2018. "Is STEM Education Portable? Country of Education and the Economic Integration of STEM Immigrants," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 965-1003, November.
    10. Agnieszka Kosny & Basak Yanar & Momtaz Begum & Dina Al-khooly & Stephanie Premji & Morgan A. Lay & Peter M. Smith, 2020. "Safe Employment Integration of Recent Immigrants and Refugees," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 807-827, September.
    11. Audra J. Bowlus & Masashi Miyairi & Chris Robinson, 2016. "Immigrant job search assimilation in Canada," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 49(1), pages 5-51, February.
    12. Emily Brown Weida & Pam Phojanakong & Falguni Patel & Mariana Chilton, 2020. "Financial health as a measurable social determinant of health," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(5), pages 1-14, May.
    13. Scott, Darius, 2022. "Uncaring landscapes and HIV peer support in the rural Southern United States," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 292(C).
    14. Hicken, Margaret T. & Kravitz-Wirtz, Nicole & Durkee, Myles & Jackson, James S., 2018. "Racial inequalities in health: Framing future research," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 11-18.
    15. Gaddis, S. Michael, 2018. "An Introduction to Audit Studies in the Social Sciences," SocArXiv e5hfc, Center for Open Science.
    16. repec:hal:pseose:halshs-00935241 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Zschirnt, Eva & Ruedin, Didier, 2016. "Ethnic discrimination in hiring decisions: A meta-analysis of correspondence tests 1990–2015," EconStor Preprints 142176, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    18. Kristoffersson, Emelie & Rönnqvist, Hanna & Andersson, Jenny & Bengs, Carita & Hamberg, Katarina, 2021. "“It was as if I wasn't there” – Experiences of everyday racism in a Swedish medical school," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 270(C).
    19. Quinn, Katherine G. & Edwards, Travonne & Johnson, Anthony & Takahashi, Lois & Dakin, Andrea & Bouacha, Nora & Voisin, Dexter, 2023. "Understanding the impact of police brutality on Black sexually minoritized men," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 334(C).
    20. Charlotta Hedberg & Tiit Tammaru, 2013. "‘Neighbourhood Effects’ and ‘City Effects’: The Entry of Newly Arrived Immigrants into the Labour Market," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 50(6), pages 1165-1182, May.
    21. Jason L. Cummings, 2020. "Assessing U.S. Racial and Gender Differences in Happiness, 1972–2016: An Intersectional Approach," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 709-732, February.
    22. Ackermann, Nicole & Goodman, Melody S. & Gilbert, Keon & Arroyo-Johnson, Cassandra & Pagano, Marcello, 2015. "Race, law, and health: Examination of ‘Stand Your Ground’ and defendant convictions in Florida," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 194-201.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0273502. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.