Homelessness is not just an adult phenomenon. On any given night thousands of young people across Canada will experience homelessness – sleeping on benches, on friends’ couches, or in emergency shelters. They are there by circumstance – never by choice. Moving them out of the cycle of homelessness onto the path of opportunity requires young people to have stable arrangements for education, housing, employment and training.

In a recent Canadian survey on youth homelessness, one of the key recommendations for communities and municipalities is to enable young people experiencing homelessness re-engage with education, training, and employment. The study also showed that 53.2% of the 1,103 young people surveyed had dropped out of school, but of those young people, 73.9% would like to return to school. Equipping young people with the tools necessary to reattach, engage and be successful in school must be a tool in the tool belts of practitioners.  Youth experiencing homelessness do not lack the motivation to pursue education, but they do need support.

Named after two homeless youth who passed away, the Chicken and Boots Bursary will help continue their legacy by supporting young people to pursue and complete a degree at Carleton University.

Awarded annually on the recommendation of the Director of the Center for Initiatives in Education to an ESP/IESP student who has overcome adversity, or is striving to overcome adversity, in order to attend or continue their education.  Preference will be given to recipients who have experienced homelessness or are homeless.  Established in 2019 by students, alumni and members of the Carleton community in memory of Chicken and Boots, two homeless youth who passed away