Nearly half of homeless youth in Toronto begin living on the streets at age 16 or younger, according to a new study, which warns that the younger someone leaves home the longer their stay on the street will last.

The study, entitled "Changing Patterns for Street Involved Youth," was conducted and released jointly Tuesday by Toronto's Yonge Street Mission, World Vision Canada, and Public Interest, which conducts research and develops outreach programs for both public and non-profit organizations.

One of its most striking findings is that more youth, 21 per cent, end up on the street at age 16 than at any other age, and one in four leave home before age 16.

And the younger they are, the greater the likelihood their stay on the street will last seven years or more.

Public Interest president Sean Meagher said Tuesday the findings indicate that prevention and early intervention strategies are necessary for keeping youth off the street, or transitioning them to housing before homelessness becomes their only way of life.

"The longer they're on the street the harder it is to get off," Meagher told CTV's Canada AM. "We had youth say basically if you've been on the street eight years or more, that's all you know. It's really difficult to transition from there."

For the study, about a dozen homeless youth interviewed 208 youth living on Toronto's streets.

They fanned out to find youth in their homes on the street, under bridges, and at drop-in programs.

They found that many youth are driven to live on the street because of painful experiences at home.

"(Their reasons for leaving are) pretty much what I think most people would expect: physical, sexual, even emotional abuse in the home," Brad Sider, who runs the Yonge Street Mission's drop-in program, told Canada AM.

Other findings include:

  • Nearly a third of Toronto street youth come from other provinces, while about 14 per cent came from other parts of Ontario. About 22 per cent are originally from the Greater Toronto Area.
  • More than 40 per cent of street youth experience mental health issues but few are able to access mental health services.
  • Immigrant street youth transition back into housing more rapidly.

According to the study, about one in five youth have been on the street for less than three months, which is actually the easiest time to get them back into housing.

But it's also the time, according to Meagher, when, because they are not acclimatized to street culture, youths are unaware of the kinds of services that could eventually help get them off the street.

"Really, it's that first three months and after that the first couple of years, those are really great windows for transitioning," Meagher said, "where we really need to reach out and connect."