A brief report on five Toronto workshops on urban health issues facing Somali youths. Participants were grouped according to age and gender, with discussions focused primarily on concerns about education and family life issues. Youth concerns regarding education included teachers’ low academic expectations of Somali students, lack of cultural sensitivity, and negative peer pressure. Youth concerns regarding the family included the effect of single-parent female-headed households, resulting in increased household responsibilities for girls and a lack of father-figures and male role models for boys.
