This new report warns of a “lockdown generation” — and has six big ideas for how to prevent it

A new report from YWCA Canada and YMCA Canada calls on all sectors, including government, private, and non-profit, to design a pandemic recovery that includes youth

Why It Matters

Young people in Canada are struggling. A majority of youth report deteriorating mental health since the pandemic began. Youth unemployment rates are still at a high. And the services vulnerable youth rely on are at risk.

A “turning point” is what a new report by YWCA Canada and YMCA Canada calls this moment in the pandemic for Gen Z and Millennials. 

The report, called Preventing a Lockdown Generation and released Thursday morning, warns that the country’s young people are headed for a dark chapter, if governments and civil society organizations don’t make sure “young people in Canada…have access to the opportunities, places, support, and services they need to recover from the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and become more resilient to future crises.” Those consequences range from disproportionate rates of job loss to disruption of education to the mental toll of isolation.

“We must recognize any recovery will be incomplete without addressing the needs of young people,” write Anjum Sultana, director of public policy and strategic communicatio

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