Nobody talks about tax cuts or constitutional reform or the sponsorship scandal in Trayon Baksh's world.

The 19-year-old, who lived on the streets before getting into Eva's Phoenix, one of the city's few facilities for homeless youth, has more urgent priorities: getting his life together, learning a skill, staying out of trouble.

So do the other 50 at-risk youth who are lucky enough to call the converted fire truck repair shop home. They're getting help to kick drugs, control their anger, find a job and resist the lure of violence.

Baksh, who arrived at Eva's five months ago, spent most of his teenage years in foster care and group homes, never feeling like he belonged anywhere or was worth much. He ended up homeless.

Now, he has a roof over his head, an internship at a theatre company, computer skills and a great attitude. "I wake up in the morning, I remember I have to go to work and I rush to the bus stop," he says.

Politicians don't pay a lot of attention to people like Baksh during election campaigns.

It's easier to talk about locking up thugs than providing housing for the 8,000 to 11,000 Canadian youth who have no place to go at night. It's safer to talk about cutting taxes than investing in kids who grew up in dysfunctional families, failed at school, dropped out and have no stake in society.

Fortunately, community leaders are sending a different message.

This week, Raising the Roof, a voluntary organization dedicated to fighting homelessness, announced a $1.2 million program to support three youth agencies — Eva's Phoenix in Toronto, the Back Door in Calgary and Choices for Youth in St. John's — that are getting troubled young people off the streets and helping them turn their lives around.

"There are solutions and you're looking at one of them in action today," said Sean Goetz-Gadon, president of Raising the Roof (also director of Toronto's affordable housing office).

The initiative is financed by businesses, foundations and individuals. The lead donor, Direct Energy, is contributing $330,000. Three chartered banks, an investment company and a brewery are also sponsors.

"This will help fill some of the funding gaps unmet by governments," Goetz-Gadon said. "We hope it will build a case in the future for more public and private investment."

It would be unfair to suggest that governments do nothing for homeless youth. Eva's Phoenix got the money for its first employment training program, six years ago, from the federal department of human resources. It still gets grants from Ottawa.

But it was a group of social activists, supported by the Canadian Auto Workers and city council, who got the project off the ground. It was local employers who agreed to open their doors to the young people. And it is private donors who are allowing it to expand its programs.

This week's funding from Raising the Roof will permit Eva's Phoenix to offer housing, counselling and employment training to an additional 48 young people over the next three years.

The trouble is there are roughly 2,000 homeless youth on Toronto's streets on any given night. Until they commit a violent crime or get killed in a hail of bullets, they don't show up on Ottawa's radar screen.

While trying to avoid partisanship, Goetz-Gadon admitted the outlook is "uncertain" as the federal election campaign enters its final 10 days.

Conservative leader Stephen Harper, who has a strong lead in the polls, has made it clear that his priority is to crack down on guns, gangs and drugs. He is pledging to put more police on the streets, enact stiff mandatory sentences for gun-related crimes and transfer violent offenders as young as 14 to adult court. Although he has no plans to cancel the $50 million crime prevention fund announced by the Liberals, he has disparaged the notion of a link between social exclusion and lawbreaking.

Youth workers are apprehensive, to say the least.

Goetz-Gadon offered them this assurance. "We're not going to go away. You'll see us here today, tomorrow and in the years to come."

As for Baksh, he's seen what lies beyond Rexdale, the shelter system and the streets. He's got mentors, housemates, even a few fans at the theatre. He can navigate the Internet, set up spreadsheets and write a polished resumé.

He knows there's an election going on. But it seems disconnected from everything that's going right in his life.

Carol Goar's column appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday.