12 WWW.AGRM.ORG MAY/JUNE 2017 Young adults recently released from places such as jail or foster care hold the highest risk of becoming homeless. A huge percentage of them end up on the streets without basic employment skills. Even day labor can be hard to acquire for people who don’t have required work clothes, such as steel-toed boots. That’s where the private sector can make a lifelong impact on individuals. During Vancouver’s Homelessness Awareness Week, a group announced the need for steel-toed boots. In just a few days, two businesses donated some, resulting in several people not having to live on the street anymore. Canadian organization BladeRunners has been working in similar ways since 1994. They train participants ages 15–30 who have multiple barriers to employment and teach job-readiness skills. Then they provide participants with local work experience through on-the-job training to enhance long-term employment prospects. In addition, BladeRunners works to create long-term partnerships between young adults and community organizations, employers, trade unions, post-secondary institutions, and various levels of government. The program is working to turn youth into valued, contributing citizens of their communities with an 88 percent job placement rate. Stop-Gap Solution Steering young adults in the right direction