a bone to pick

In one of my classes today we had a guest speaker come in from Kingston's Children's Aid Society.

It was a fantastic class, and the speaker really knew what he was talking about and what we as soon to be teachers should look out for etc etc. Fantastic knowledge and he answered all of the questions that we threw at him.

One thing however disturbed me about the discussion.

The guest speaker commented on the lack of aid that there is for young adults 16-17 years old. You see, apparently, if you're under 16 then childrens aid can help you, but over 16 they're not allowed. And since you're not an adult until you're 18, you also can't get aid from the provincial government (you're not an adult yet so you don't get government financial aid - like welfare). You're in fact screwed if you're 16-17 years old and have a home that is unsafe for you. No one can OFFICIALLY help you.

You know what Childrens Aid calls those years? The black hole.

They can't help you, and there's no other official government system that is set up to help you either.

I heard this and just sat there in shock. There is no provinical government aid or system set up to help people who are 16-17 years old and living in an unsafe home.

There is something COMPLETELY wrong with that, and it's totally unacceptable.

Something needs to be done.