November 17 is officially declared as Youth Homelessness Awareness Day by Stratford and St. Marys. A flag-raising ceremony for this change was held earlier this morning outside the Stratford City Hall, with the day aiming to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and advance conversations on this issue. This comes after Shelterlink Youth Services collected signatures around Thanksgiving to get the federal government to proclaim November 17 as National Day of Youth Homelessness Awareness. Shelterlink Executive Director Cate Trudeau said that one in five Canadians experiencing homelessness are youth between the ages of 13 and 24. Shelterlink said they’re thankful to everyone who came to the ceremony, where they added that their hearts are full.