HOUSING AGAIN • Bulletin
Number 88 February 6,
2006
The Housing Again Bulletin, sponsored by Raising the Roof
as a partner
in Housing Again.
A monthly electronic bulletin highlighting what people are doing to
put
housing back on the public agenda in Ontario, across Canada and
around the
world.
Our web sites are:
Housing Again
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Shared Learnings on Homelessness
http://www.sharedlearnings.org%20/
http://www.liaison-itinerance.org/
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http://www.raisingtheroof.org/
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In
this Issue:
Feature and Community Profile: Partners Solving Youth
Homelessness
News Briefs: Partnership Trumps
Partisanship to End Homelessness; CHRA Launches On-line Housing Discussion; It’s
Toque Tuesday
Time Again
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Feature and
Community Spotlight:
Partners
Solving Youth Homelessness
When eleven year old Trayon came to Canada from Guyana in
1997, his reunion with his parents wasn’t the fairy tale he’d hoped it would be.
Within a few years, Trayon was on the street and headed for trouble. Eventually
he heard about a program that would give him a free place to live for one year
and he jumped at the chance to have a roof over his head and food in his belly.
Within a few weeks of entering the program at Eva’s Phoenix, however, he found
so much more than just shelter and food—he found respect, he said.
Youth homelessness has reached
alarming proportions—it is estimated that young people represent up to one third
of Canada’s homeless population. On any given night,
approximately 33,000 Canadians are homeless—8,000 to 11,000 are youth. In
Toronto, roughly 10,000 different youth are homeless at one point in any given
year—and between 1,500 and 2,000 are homeless on any given night.
Long-term solutions, however, require unique, cutting edge partnerships
between the private, public and community sectors.
This is the underlying philosophy
behind the Youthworks initiative:
the best way to deal with homelessness is to address it at the beginning, not
treat it at the end.
“When I came to the shelter, I had to agree
to participate in a variety of programs which I did begrudgingly at first,”
Trayon told Housing Again. “But I soon found that the training programs were
making me feel important and useful. And I was learning new skills, how to hold
down a steady job and take care of myself.”
“For the first time since coming to Canada,
I really feel like I have a bright future ahead of me,” Trayon said.
On January 11, Eva’s Phoenix in Toronto was the site of a launch of a
$1.2-million Youthworks initiative—a three year national campaign of Raising the Roof to support programs to
combat youth homelessness. The goal of the program is to recognize and support
cutting-edge programmes that build self-sufficiency, enabling homeless youth to
move from the street and hostels to independent living as contributing members
of society.
Board President and Partnership
Director, Affordable Housing Office, City of Toronto, Sean
Goetz-Gadon, was on hand
with Toronto Deputy Mayor Joe
Pantalone to make the announcement.
“This is an opportunity for
groups in the community to join together with the private sector to find
solutions to homelessness,” said Goetz-Gadon. “We want to tap into the growing
sense of responsibility within corporations because every young person deserves
an opportunity to shine.”
“This program means that we will
cut off the flow of homeless young people moving into long-term, adult
homelessness in these communities,” he said. “This is an exciting opportunity
because we are working towards a long-term solution to the crisis.”
In addition to supporting
groundbreaking work that is currently under-funded, Youthworks will provide a
much needed networking and communications structure for community agencies
providing services to homeless youth across the country. Raising the Roof will
work with its community partners to document key findings and formulate best
practices. The goal is not only to improve practices in dealing with youth
homelessness, but ultimately to encourage community partners and corporate
stakeholders to work together to influence public policy in addressing
homelessness among young Canadians.
Raising the Roof has set a goal
to raise $1.2-million in the first phase of the initiative, with funding
provided to agencies over three years.
Direct Energy is the lead sponsor with a three-year commitment of $330,000.
Raising the Roof has also secured commitments from the Scotiabank, BMO Financial Group, TD Securities, Franklin
Templeton Investments, Molson Canada, and the Jays Care Foundation.
The
three agencies selected will each receive $100,000 per year for three years to
enhance the programs they are offering to provide innovative education, training and employment
programs for more than 500 high risk young people aged 16 to 24. They are
Eva’s Phoenix in Toronto, The Back Door in Calgary and Choices for Youth in
St. John’s. They have demonstrated
success in offering programs that build self-sufficiency and enable homeless
youth to move from the street and hostels to independent living as contributing
members of society.
Youthworks will monitor the results and effectiveness of
these programs to share with other agencies and to better engage the corporate
and government sectors in policies and programs that make a difference in the
lives of young homeless Canadians.
Eva’s Phoenix
Eva’s Phoenix in Toronto is a
transitional housing and training facility offering innovative education,
employment and mentorship programs to help homeless youth aged 16 to 24 achieve
sustainable employment and housing.
Prior to formally opening in June
2000, Eva’s Phoenix ran its first successful employment training program funded
by Human Resources Development Canada, now known as Service Canada, which
supported 50 homeless and at-risk youth in life skills training and on-site
employment on the construction site with the help of local unions. Working with
business, labour and community partners, Eva’s Phoenix provides homeless and
at-risk youth with the opportunities needed to develop life skills, build
careers and live independently.
Youth live in shared townhouse-style
units with access to common areas. While at Eva's Phoenix, youth develop the
skills to live independently through goal-setting exercises, workshops and
hands-on programs that are delivered in a supportive environment. Programs offer
mentorship with peers which include one-to-one settings in a range of supports
from cooking classes to leadership development activities, which in turn
supports the efforts of youth to successfully manage independent living.
Program graduate Darnell said that a year ago before
arriving at Eva’s he thought he might end up in jail, or worse. “I had no
future, no hope,” said Darnell. “I knew there had to be help somewhere and that
if I put the effort into getting something out of life, instead of destroying my
life, I could change. After my program at Eva’s Phoenix, I found a job and can
now support my family.”
A
comprehensive evaluation of the program was completed in 2003. A toolkit of
resources for groups across Canada is currently under development.
For
information: www.evasinitiatives.com/e-phoenix.htm
The Back
Door
The Back Door in Calgary is an
innovative program for street youth 17 to 24 in which participants work with
community volunteers to develop step-by step personal contracts to improve their
lives, get off the street and become self-sufficient members of society.
The program began as an
experiment in social change to test a cost-effective approach to help long-term
street youth (young adults 17-24) move permanently off the street into
mainstream society. It was felt that traditional
measures were increasingly costly and nurtured dependence rather than
independence of those they sought to help.
In the development of the
original project proposal in 1987, Back Door members conducted survey research
asking frontline workers of existing programs in the major cities of Canada and
the U.S.: “What might work better than what you are currently doing?” The
results indicated to them that a different approach was needed—one that allowed
“self-determination and self-direction, accountability for one’s choices, and
ownership for one’s own life.”
The fact that people are living
on the street is only part of much larger social questions. Members believe that
“if social change is to be achievable, our society must go beyond our
traditional ways of thinking.”
In January 1988, “The Back Door,
a Youth Employment Society” opened its doors in Calgary, but its purpose was not
just about getting young people off the street. It is designed as an environment
which seeks to discover, understand and communicate the factors which indicate
the need for social change. Since 1988, over 700 participants have gone through
the programs which have consistently worked for 7 out of 10 young
people.
For more information:
www.thebackdoor.ca
Choices for Youth
Choices for Youth is a community
agency providing supportive housing and related services for homeless youth in
downtown St. John’s. The program includes a shelter for young men (16 to 29) and
a supportive housing programme for 45 youth aged 16 to 21.
In 1990, the community-based
agency was established after the Mount Cashel Orphanage closed. In November
2004, Choices for Youth Services Centre, a new $1.9 million shelter and
community resources agency for young people, officially opened its doors.
Their mission is to provide youth
with a range of supportive housing options, access to a variety of services that
“promote healthy personal development and a sense of belonging within an
environment of respect, tolerance, peace and equality.” The program helps youth
find and maintain housing in the community and supports them to address issues
in their lives that contribute to a lack of housing—education, employment,
addictions, etc.
“We offer youth choices—when
there are no other options,” said Executive Director Sheldon Pollett.
Since opening, Choices has
provided a supportive housing program for 45 youth each year (ages 16 – 21).
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NEWS
BRIEFS:
Partnership Trumps Partisanship to End
Homelessness
The Executive Director of the
Washington-based Interagency Council on
Homelessness, which is responsible for providing federal leadership for
activities to assist homeless families and individuals, visited Toronto shortly
after the Conservative Party won a minority government last month. At a
symposium sponsored by Homes First
Foundation, Philip Mangano told
the audience, including Toronto Mayor David Miller, to take heart—American
housing advocates were very worried about the future of services for the
homeless when the Bush Administration assumed power in 2000, but what they have
seen in the last five years is a deeper commitment to ending homelessness.
“Partnership trumps partisanship
to get the job done,” Mangano said.
Canadian housing advocates made
significant advances with the last minority government. With focused, determined
efforts housing and homelessness can be kept on the national policy agenda, he
said. www.homesfirst.on.ca
CHRA Launches On-line Housing
Discussion
Canadian Housing and Renewal
Association has launched an
on-line Discussion on Housing Program Choices—a web-based discussion on
various policy directions, which include the role of rent supplements and
capital investment in expanding the social housing stock. A discussion
paper is also available which outlines ideas and options for a “program tool
box” and bottom up planning. To join the discussion group: <http://chra-achru.ca/english/view.asp?x=654&id=523>
It’s Toque Tuesday Time
Again
On February 7 in Toronto, Raising the Roof will hold its 2006
Toque Tuesday Celebration—a national campaign that gives people from all walks
of life the chance to raise funds, raise fun and raise awareness in the fight
against homelessness in Canada. Buy your special Raising
The Roof toque in exchange for a minimum $10 donation to support programs and
initiatives which help make a difference in the lives of thousands of men, women
and children who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. http://www.raisingtheroof.org/tp-toque-index.cfm
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