Episode 11: Zach’s Story & Society vs. the Individual

Part ONE of YOUTH VOICES

Individualism, socialism, self-love, and more with REST Client Zach, a youth with lived experience with homelessness. His deep-cut survival story about his battles with domestic abuse, his mental health, and homophobia is an honest portrayal of what one youth’s experience with homelessness might look like. Zach also opens up about an issue in our world that haunts him: individualism and its detrimental impact on our society.

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Further Reading:

Socialism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Psychology)

Socialism (Britannica)

Individualism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Psychology)

Individualism (Britannica)

NIMBY-ism (Homeless Hub)

Read a portion of this conversation published in the January/February 2023 publication of the Tough Times Newsletter

Zack’s Resources:

Peel Youth Village (Region of Peel)

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About the Guest:

Zach

Youth Client | REST Centres | He/Him

Zach is a youth with lived experience with homelessness. He shares his own story to advocate for others and empower other youth with similar experiences to stand up for themselves.

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About the Host:

Mya Moniz

Peer Support Leader | REST Centres She/Her

Mya is an independent youth and Former Crown Ward of the Peel Children’s Aid Society. She’s achieved an Honours Bachelor of Arts with High Distinction from the University of Toronto in English, Professional Writing and Communications, and Sociology. She also sits at the Senior Leadership Table for the Peel Alliance to End Homelessness as a youth with lived experience.

Mya believes there is great power in healing, growth, and catharsis through writing and storytelling, and she strives to help others tell their stories the way she tells hers.