Letter to the Editor: The challenges and hope of B.C.’s foster youth system

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched — they must be felt with the heart,” said Helen Keller. 

Children are a gift and are also vulnerable to life’s challenges. Many children find themselves innocent victims of abuse, violence, and neglect. When these cruel circumstances emerge, a beacon of hope in British Columbia is the foster-care system, which provides a home and security to vulnerable children, teenagers, and young adults. 

In B.C, foster youth had previously “aged out” and stopped receiving government assistance at the age of 19. This short-sighted policy has changed in the past few years, prudently and compassionately, to expand support services to foster youth to the age of 27. These services include income support, life skills, post-secondary education, rent supplements, and counselling. Yet many foster youth, due to trauma and abuse in early life, experience higher rates of homelessness, addiction, and mental health crises compared to Canadian averages.  

For many young youth, adulthood means new independence. For those in foster care, it can often mean losing housing, financial aid, and emotional support, leaving many at high risk of homelessness in a tight housing market.

A major step to address this is underway in New Westminster, where construction has begun on an 89-home development for youth aging out of foster care. Rents will range from $445 to $2,550, depending on income and unit size. Over its lifetime, more than 2,500 youth are expected to live there.

The project will be owned and operated by Aunt Leah’s Foundation, which has long supported youth in transition. In addition to housing, residents will access programs through Aunt Leah’s Society Outreach Centre, including life-skills training, education, food support, and cooking classes.

The province, through BC Housing, is contributing more than $14 million and ongoing support as part of its $19-billion housing plan. Set to open in the summer of 2027, the project will be one of the largest youth-focused housing developments in the Lower Mainland, offering stability and opportunity for those leaving government care.

Canada’s Ministry of Children and Family Development reported that over 61,104 children were in the foster-care system between 2021 and 2022. When data from Indigenous Services Canada is included, the number rises to 70,434 children nationwide.

According to the Child, Youth, and Family Services Act, 2017, children and youth under the age of 18 are placed in foster care if they are neglected or abused, whether mentally, physically, or sexually. 

They may also be placed if their basic needs are not being met, such as access to food, safe housing, education, or medical care. In many cases, a parent or guardian is either unwilling or unable to provide proper care. Depending on the situation, children can be placed into care by a court order or may voluntarily seek protection if they feel unsafe or unsupported in their current home environment.

Most children who enter the foster-care system have already endured complex trauma, often from neglect or abuse. These early experiences affect nearly every aspect of their lives: their ability to complete secondary and post-secondary education, their mental health, employment prospects, and the likelihood of living in poverty as adults.

Clearly, the compassion and justice of a society is judged by the care given to vulnerable citizens. The province has taken a step toward compassion and prudent policy by expanding care to foster youth until the age of 27. Yet consistent care and expanded services are still required to give foster youth a full and healthy life of opportunities.