City of Toronto

Issues related to poverty, unemployment, opportunity, and youth.

There aren't a lot of noteworthy opportunities present for the youth of the City of Toronto that is most likely to get into serious crimes or violence due to unemployment and poverty. Not a lot of encouragement is given to the formation and implementation of opportunities for the youth that is most likely to get involved is crimes and violence of serious nature. There isn't much awareness regarding the present laws in the people responsible for the implementation of programs that deals with the unemployed or poor youth which gets involved in serious violence or crime. Also, the youth doesn't have much knowledge of the existing laws either. There is constant change taking place in the youth services that are being carried out in the City of Toronto. There is a fragmented manner in which most of the youth services are delivered by the City of Toronto. A huge need for the integration of the substance use and the mental health treatment services into the communities of the country exists as, the city is facing significant amount of shortage after a lot of these service centers got incarcerated.

There a serious need for culture shift because without it the systemic racism along with other kinds of discriminations will keep on limiting the opportunities that are there for the youth that is highly likely to take part in violent and criminal activities because of unemployment and poverty. There is a need for equal access of the youth to education. The number of education programs that these young individuals have access to are very limited. However, increasing the number of these educational programs and making them accessible to the youth that is in danger of getting involved in illegal activities can make them more social in a positive manner and greatly decrease their chances of taking part in such unlawful activities. Making the economic opportunities accessible to these young individuals in a fair manner will further decrease their chances of getting themselves involved in serious crimes or violence as they will become more capable.

How does government see youth issues?

Unfair or unequal opportunities that are provided to the youth in case of housing will further play a negative role in them getting involved in violent crimes. There is a shortage of reliable and consistent safe places for the youth living in Toronto. The most significant moments in the development of youth are the transition times which can coincide with the gaps that are present in the City services. Opportunities regarding formal or informal kind of mentorship for youth in Toronto are absent. There are a number of programs that are offered by the City of Toronto but there are a lot of barriers to entry in majority of those programs. The youth can further get marginalized by the exclusion policies that are present in the City services. Criminalization of youth can take place because of the city procedures that are practiced in case of conflicts where youth is involved. There is a dire need for the youth service centers to open up at the locations and at such hours when the young individuals can get access to them. The criminal record checks have proven to be barriers in case of employment or voluntary work especially for the youth. There are a number of City programs that can't be accessed by the youth in case of a criminal record (Youth Equity Strategy (YES: Toronto.ca>>youth equity strategy n.d).

Therefore, there is a significant need for the City of Toronto to re-evaluate their reforms regarding the youth especially the ones that have a tendency to get into illegal habits or those who committed some crime but are now making an effort to turn their lives around. It has been observed through various researches that it is our strict and unfair policies that often make the youngsters go back to their criminal lives even if they don't want to because we make it hard for them to earn an honest living, this further ads up to the problem of unemployment and poverty in youth.

Statistical comparison of 3 Toronto Wards

Ward 1- Etobicoke North

Shelter Costs - 2010

Renter Households:

The average rent is $909

The hhds spending is more than 30% of household income which is 3,238 40.7

Owner Households:

The average amount of major payments is$1,268

The hhds spending is more than 30% of household income which is 3,059 30.0

Low Income - 2010

No. %

Population in private households is 60,925

From among the above mentioned population the low income population is 13,355

Incidence is 21.9

Labour Force

Population of people more than 15 years of age is47,980 100.0

Number of people in the labour force is 28,995 60.4

Number of people employed is 25,275 52.7

Number of people unemployed is3,720 7.8

Number of people that are not in the labour force is 18,985 39.6

The rate of unemployment is 12.8

The rate of participation in case of males is 65.8

The rate of participation in case of females is 55.4 (City of Toronto Ward Profile 2011).

Ward 12 -- York South Weston

Shelter Costs - 2010

Renter Households

Average rent here is $836

The hhds spending is more than 30% of household incomewhichis 4,007 38

Owner Households

The average amount of major payments is $1,190

The hhds spending is more than 30% of household income which is 2,576 27.7

Low Income - 2010

Population in private households 53,255

From among the above mentioned population the low income population is 11,885

Incidence is 22.3

Employed Labour force

Those who worked at home are 775 3.3

The people who worked outside Canada are 70 0.3

Those who don't have any fixed workplace address are 4,220 17.9

Those who work at usual place are 18,505 78.5

The total number oflabour force is 23,570 100.0 (City of Toronto Ward Profile 2011).

Ward 6- Etobicoke-Lakeshore

Shelter Costs - 2010

Renter Households

The average rent is $935

The hhds spending is more than 30% of household income which is 5,121 41.1

Owner Households

The average major payments are $1,439

The hhds spending is more than 30% of household income which is 3,904 25.1

Low Income - 2010

Population in private households 58,470

From among the above mentioned population the low income population is 8,955

Incidence is 15.3

Labour Force

Population of people that are more than 15 years of age is51,105 100.0

Number of people inlabour force is 34,805 68.1

Number of employed people is 32,080 62.8

Number of unemployed peopleis 2,725 5.3

Those that are not in the labour force are 16,300 31.9

The rate of unemployment is 7.8

The rate of participation in the males is 72.3

The rate of participation in the females is 64.2 (City of Toronto Ward Profile 2011).

Article 1

Source Information: The Guardian Article: David Cameron unveils welfare changes in drive to end youth unemployment 28 Sept 2014

This article is regarding the article that was presented by David Cameron which offered a scheme according to which any individual between the ages of 18-21 who doesn't have a child will not be eligible for the housing benefits and their jobseeker's allowance will also stop after 6 months of them being out of a job. This, he said will help in decreasing the amount of youth unemployment.

Article 2

Source of information: Green left weekly, Youth unemployment and poverty rising. Saturday, May 3, 2014

According to a new report by the Brotherhood of St. Laurence, 1 student out of every 5 skips meals and 2 out of 3 students live below the line of poverty (Angus McAllen, 2014). The national unemployment rate has doubled as a result of the unemployment of the youth. The overall rate of unemployment for the country is 6% but for the people between the ages of 15 to 24 it is 12.5% and is as high as 20% in few of the areas. Poverty is being faced even by those students who go to universities.

Conclusion

Not a lot of attention is being paid by the government to the poverty that is prevailing in the youth. With regards to the violence, unemployment, poverty and youth issues in general there are a number of gaps which need to be filled. This conclusion has been drawn after comparing 3 various Toronto Wards. There seems to be a lag in the government's attitude when it comes to dealing with these important issues which are affecting not just the Canadian youth but the citizens of the county as well. There are a lot of people who suffer from poverty and whose housing structures need some attention from the government. This situation not just emerges but also become worse because of the unemployment scenario which has taken the whole nation in its grip. Therefore, it is very important for the government to take notice of this significant issue and make reforms to reduce and ultimately diminish it.

List of references

Angus McAllen, Green left weekly, Youth unemployment and poverty rising

Saturday, May 3, 2014, https://www.greenleft.org.au/node/56373

Patrick Wintour, Youth Unemployment, The Guardian, http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/sep/28/david-cameron-welfare-youth-unemployment

City of Toronto, Ward Profile 2011, http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=fee133a114b10410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD: Retrieved 28 January 2015

Youth Equity Strategy (YES: Toronto.ca>>youth equity strategy), (n.d) www1.toronto.ca/City%20Of%20Toronto/.../Attachment%201%...: Retrieved 28 January 2015

Appendices

Appendix 1

Ward 1 profile-pdf

Appendix 2

Ward 6 profile-pdf

Appendix 3

Ward 12 profile-pdf

Appendix 4

Youth Equity Strategy (YES: Toronto.ca>>youth equity strategy)-pdf