Reports of missing youth remain high in Saskatoon, police say

Saskatoon police have received more than 1,300 reports of missing kids in the past six months.

One youth worker says the whole community must work together to solve the problem.

"This isn't just a police issue," Don Meikle of Egadz Youth Centre said.

Two-thirds of those reports are for girls, according to a report from the Saskatoon Police Service. The vast majority of calls are for kids who run away repeatedly from foster care of group homes. Twenty specific children accounted for a combined 400 of the calls.

Meikle said they're working hard with police and other groups to bring those numbers down.

"Well, it's not a surprise to me, if you look at all of the outside factors going on around mental health, around addiction, the number of drugs and how powerful they are," he said.

All sectors must work together: Meikle

Officials in social services, health, education and other areas are all needed to solve this problem, according to Meikle.

Egadz, for example, is partnering with the University of Saskatchewan. They're working on a phone app to help youth see what services are needed if they're in trouble.​

Meikle said drugs and mental illness are continuing to drag large numbers of kids into street life. He said these kids need treatment and health services, but also a sense of belonging and hope.

"These kids are saying, 'Look, you take us from our families and you put us in these homes and you put us in these places. We still feel like we're in jail,'" he said.

Meikle said it can be easy to get discouraged when looking at such large numbers. He said there have also been many success stories and they'll try to learn from those examples as well.