Youth Service Needs Assessment of Selected Neighbourhoods in East York and Scarborough
Objectives
The objective of this needs assessment of youth services in East York and Scarborough was to establish a comprehensive understanding of the concerns, service requirements, and preferences of youth aged 16-24 years. The findings and implications are designed to guide the improvement and development of programs and services that promote optimal youth health and well-being. The project sought to address the following questions:
- What are the primary concerns and service needs of youth aged 16-24 living or attached to these neighbourhoods?
- Which programs and services are youth aware of and utilize?
- What is the current status (strengths and limitations) of existing programs and services,
- with a focus on the youth perspectives regarding timing and scheduling?
- How can the gaps between the current and desired states of youth services and programming be effectively addressed?
Feedback from Stakeholder Consultations
Priority Concerns and Service Needs
Mental health challenges, difficulty securing employment, inflation and growing financial hardships, a lack of mentorship and career preparedness, substance use, physical and online safety concerns, program reductions, discontinuations, lack of maintenance, insufficient support for newcomer youth, and food insecurity were identified as key issues affecting youth. Other highlighted existing and emerging concerns included challenges in finding a family doctor, a rise in eating disorders and a greater need for sexual health education.
Current Services & Programs for Youth
Stakeholder consultations demonstrated that youth use diverse services, including health (general, mental, sexual, and addiction support), recreation, employment, education, and settlement supports. Most frequently, they access programs for sports, recreation and tap into social connection and relationship building, often through drop-in centres offering various amenities like food, homework space, and rest areas. Youth benefit from community facilities such as parks, libraries, pools, and shelters. While program eligibility is generally deemed flexible, some services target specific groups or depend on available space. Many youth also seek leadership and volunteer opportunities for school credits, skill-building, and altruistic purposes.
Strengths & Limitations of Youth Programs and Services
A broad spectrum of program and service offerings, geographical and programmatic flexibility, welcoming environments, supportive staff, and the availability of a wide range of incentives and other motivational factors are regarded as key characteristics of successful programs. Conversely, the absence of adequate information promotion regarding programs and services accessible to youth, insufficient sustainable funding, resources and staffing, a potential mismatch between youth needs and preferences and the available offerings, limited hours of operation, long wait times and administrative obstacles, and parental concerns constitute barriers that impact youth participation.
Recommendations for Addressing Gaps
- Invest in the sector by promoting integrated youth services, ensuring funding, service continuity and staffing that do not concentrate a wide range of responsibilities on youth workers and enhanced coordination and collaboration among youth-serving organizations.
- Address programmatic gaps that create barriers to access through streamlined processes, tailored and efficient referral supports, boosting program promotion, ongoing maintenance of facilities and resources, extending operating hours, and conducting routine evaluation of youth needs and adapting programs accordingly.
- Increase youth engagement in service planning, using evidence-informed engagement practices and ensuring transparency and accountability in relation to how their feedback is used and translated into actionable outcomes.
Resources and reports
Download the full report, presentation slides, and infographic:
