Youth Services Spotlight for Homelessness Action Week
This Homelessness Action Week (October 11-17), Family Services of Greater Vancouver (FSGV) is shining a light on Directions Youth Services, its 24/7/365 resource for young people who are unhoused or precariously housed in Metro Vancouver.
Youth Services Spotlight for Homelessness Action Week
Directions has been serving the community for more than three decades, providing meals, a safe place to be, and youth-informed supports for young people in crisis.
The support each unhoused youth needs to increase stability in their lives is unique. Secure housing, income, life skills, and community are some of their basic needs but the path there can look different, especially when youth are in crisis. Making access to help whenever it’s needed especially important.
Research shows that early homelessness is linked to a greater risk of chronic homelessness later in life. By providing immediate support, safety, and connection to services, programs like Directions can help interrupt the cycle before homelessness becomes a long-term reality. Early, youth-centred support can be life-changing.
Directions (1138 Burrard St, Vancouver) provides young people with a safe place where they can:
- Access onsite medical clinics
- Attend workshops on life skills, health, safety, and other practical topics
- Connect with peers through 2SLGBTQIA+ events and workshops
- Gain work experience, build skills, earn references, and receive same-day pay through the Street Youth Job Action program
- Access two youth-specific safehouses when they need a safe place to stay
- Connect with Directions Outreach for judgment-free support, including harm reduction supplies, free snacks and drinks, and Indigenous culture kits
Help more young people learn that support is available through Directions and its 24/7/365 services. You can donate to support their efforts.
Homelessness Action Week is an opportunity to acknowledge those in our community in need and highlight the incredible work being done to help address homelessness in our communities.
- More than 170 youth are unhoused in our community on any given night, according to the most recent Point-in-Time Homeless Count in Greater Vancouver (2025).
- 50% of youth accessing Directions visited for the first time this past year, highlighting the growing need for accessible supports for young people experiencing crisis.
- 22% of new youth coming to Directions are aged 13-18, underscoring the need for early, youth-centred support.
- 8% of youth accessing Directions are 2SLGBTQIA+ despite only representing 4% of the general population.
About Family Services of Greater Vancouver
Family Services of Greater Vancouver (FSGV) is a non-profit working to support and empower children, youth, and families. Since 1928, the non-profit has offered programs and services that help people develop the skills, knowledge, and confidence to create positive change in their lives. Specializing in supports for families, youth, and survivors, FSGV staff work from an evidence-based and trauma-informed lens to meet people where they’re at and get them where they want to be.
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