Meet the Torontonians choosing RVs over rent

Plus, youth mental health and how politicians spent the summer [The Star] First Up [By Kevin Jiang] By Kevin Jiang Good morning. Here’s the latest on Canada’s youth mental health crisis, Torontonians choosing RVs over rent and how the nation’s leaders spent the summer. DON’T MISS Dreamstime Photo mental health [COVID-19 saw a huge rise in young Canadians visiting the hospital for mental health crises]( Research continues to shed light on the ongoing toll COVID-19 took on youth mental health. According to two new studies published in CMAJ Monday, the number of adolescents who visited the ER or were hospitalized for self-harm or suicidal thoughts rose significantly over the pandemic — with the greatest increase seen among preteen and younger teen girls. Researchers tell the Star’s Kenyon Wallace and Megan Ogilvie the results echo previous studies suggesting adolescent girls may be disproportionately affected. [Here’s what to know about the mental health crises plaguing our kids](. - By the numbers: The first study found that while Canada-wide ER visits dropped overall among youth aged 10-18, admissions for suicidal ideation, self-harm and self-poisoning increased from 2020-2022. The second paper found ER visits for self-harm in those aged 10-17 were 29 per cent higher than expected, while hospitalizations increased by 72 per cent. - Why it matters: As youth mental health continues to decline, a startling report from February found over 90 per cent of schools in Ontario were in need of mental health support. [Teachers told the Star they see a system “on the verge of collapse.”]( Lance McMillan/The Star cost of living [More Torontonians are living in RVs as the housing crisis deepens]( As Toronto stares down a worsening affordability crisis, a growing number of people are turning to cars, RVs and trailer homes for shelter — especially after the pandemic pushed many to financial precarity, while its aftershocks drove the rental market to fevered heights. “My goal will always be to get a better vehicle, to hopefully get back to work and save enough money,” a 61-year-old carpenter living in Toronto’s increasingly-motor-home-strewn Port Lands told The Star’s May Warren and Victoria Gibson. Even those with savings or stable employment are finding it impossible to keep their homes. [Take a closer look at the situation as it unfolds](. - Wait, what? Experts say Toronto’s rental market is “out of control” as recent reports find [even living with roommates can cost up to $1,300 a month]( - Go deeper: Data shows investors took advantage of low interest rates over the pandemic to scoop up large chunks of Canada’s housing supply, [owning 10 per cent more of the nation’s mortgaged homes than they did three years ago](. Canadian Press/Jason Franson federal politics [We tracked how Pierre Poilievre, Justin Trudeau and Jagmeet Singh spent their summers — here’s what we found]( Although the leaders of Canada’s major political parties are only now headed back to Parliament for a new session, that doesn’t mean they spent the summer slacking off. For leading figures like Justin Trudeau, Pierre Poilievre and Jagmeet Singh, summer is prime time for showing Canadians what they’ve been fighting for and why they deserve support, Raisa Patel writes. While Trudeau spent his time trying to convince a shifting electorate to stick by him amidst sliding poll numbers, cash-flush Poilievre was able to venture out on a cross-country tour — one countered by Singh’s own campaigning. [Here’s what you missed during a busy summer for Canada’s leaders](. - Context: [Trudeau’s Liberal Party is losing favour with Canadians]( Poilievre’s Conservatives leap ahead in the polls. Meanwhile, several Liberal MPs have expressed frustration with the government’s performance and Trudeau’s midsummer cabinet shuffle. - Susan Delacourt’s take: An open revolt in the Liberal Party doesn’t appear imminent. After months of bad-luck, Trudeau emerged from the Liberal caucus retreat having seemingly earned the support of his MPs once more — [a rare, “better than expected” outcome for the prime minister this summer](. WHAT ELSE [Evacuation orders have been issued for Peachland, B.C.,]( as more than 400 wildfires burn across the province. [BMO is shuttering its retail auto finance business]( triggering layoffs as bad debt mounts. [Economists predict inflation likely reaccelerated in August]( reversing recent progress. The economic roller-coaster of this small town is [fuelled by chocolate and cannabis](. Now a post-tropical storm, [Lee has moved into Gulf of St. Lawrence, leaving thousands without power](. U.S. Congresswoman Lauren Boebert was [caught on tape groping her date before being booted from a theatre](. Have you saved enough to retire as a single person? [You might be surprised how much you need](. [Four people were injured in stabbings and assaults]( in Toronto’s Entertainment District. Want to create real wealth? Start thinking like an American — [and follow these four steps](. Cord Jefferson’s “American Fiction” has [won the People’s Choice prize at TIFF](. [Mike Babcock has resigned as head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets]( amid investigation. The Blue Jays ace who disappeared: [Inside the meteoric rise and shocking fall of Alek Manoah](. POV Michael Dwyer/AP Photo [Does each nostril have the same number of hairs? Meet this year’s Ig Nobel Prize winners.]( CLOSE-UP Toronto Star TORONTO: Sailor, a bouncy border collie/whippet cross, leaps high to catch a disc thrown by his owner, Rob McLeod. Sailor and McLeod have numerous Guinness World Records under their belts — [here’s what motivates them to chase the prize](. Thank you for reading. You can reach me and the First Up team at [firstup@thestar.ca](mailto:firstup@thestar.ca?source=newsletter&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=emailutm_email=6C53B63A8E3FAD70AD4EF13004527437&utm_campaign=frst_199231). I’ll see you back here tomorrow. If you're not enjoying these emails, please tell us how we can make them better by emailing newsletterfeedback@thestar.ca. Or, if you'd prefer, you can unsubscribe from this newsletter by clicking the first link below. 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