Homeless teenagers shouldn’t be shipped out of Langley if they want to find a shelter bed, teenaged activists told Township council Monday.
Elliot Cluney and the Langley Student Group, along with some of their adult advisors, asked the Township to help create local youth shelter spaces. The local students held an open house recently to discuss the issue because there are no shelter beds for homeless people under 19 in the Langleys. That can mean long trips to and from school for youths without anywhere to live, and difficulty finding housing.
The youths asked the council for help finding a space, preferably storefront with a residential component.
“What happens next is kind of up to you guys,” Cluney said.
There were 162 youths in Langley last year who were at risk of becoming homeless, and 49 were actually out on the street.
The students are asking for an eight-bed shelter.
“Eight beds is better than none,” said Loren Roberts, the manager of Encompass Support Services Society.