Overview

In British Columbia, young people in foster care ​“age out” of the child welfare system when they turn 19. Ready or not, they are left to fend for themselves as adults, and are disproportionately at risk of experiencing adverse outcomes such as substance use issues, homelessness, and mental health struggles. Forthright and often heartbreaking, 19 and Homeless introduces us to eight young people — most Indigenous or LGBTQ2+ — who have paid the price for a failed system. As we follow them over a two-year period, they relate, in their own words, their journeys and their struggles, transforming troubling statistics into compelling human stories.