WELLINGTON COUNTY – Chrissy Scott is worried.
As the project coordinator for the Rural Emphasis program that focuses on youth homelessness, she knows there are between 60 and 100 homeless youth in Wellington County on any given day.
During COVID-19, they’ve become invisible.
“We always had an issue with youth in rural communities,” she said in a phone interview on June 25. “They were not visible before COVID. And now without schools, without Tim Hortons, without having a place they can gather, they have disappeared.
“Our efforts to reach youth are stagnant.”
There are many reasons youth may find themselves in unstable housing conditions, Scott said. Addiction or mental health issues at home can lead to friction that may seem insurmountable and young people may either choose to leave or be kicked out.
Financial need and physical danger might also be behind a young person’s attempt to live on their own. Some can get jobs and places to live independently, but many wind up staying at friends’ homes for periods of time and then moving on to other friends’ homes.
“Couch-surfing might work for a while, but it’s no solution,” Scott said. “Sometimes they are very supportive places. At others, youth might feel like a burden.”
When schools were open, these youth could at least come in out of the cold, socialize with friends, and be noticed by teachers or other youth care workers who could link them to services in the community that could help.
Now that the economy is re-opening, Scott said she’s hopeful these young people might come forward as there are supports available for them.
Rural Emphasis began as the Rural Youth Homelessness committee, comprised of youth-serving agencies across Guelph and Wellington, including the County of Wellington, Wyndham House, The Community Resource Centre of North and Centre Wellington, Family and Children’s Services, East Wellington Community Services, 2nd Chance Employment, the Rural Wellington Community Team, and the Upper Grand District School Board.
The group examined statistics, surveyed resources already available, and began to have discussions about ways to support homeless youth in Wellington County and ways to prevent and end youth homelessness before it happens.
In January, Rural Emphasis received funding to hire two youth outreach workers – one focused on centre and north Wellington, and the other in east Wellington. The plan was to begin outreach in high schools but before it got going, programs were cancelled due to COVID-19.
“We had a lofty list of tasks we hoped to accomplish this year,” Scott said.
The work continued with the youth already identified, but many fell under the radar, she said. “With (the economy) opening up, we hope to see more youth connections,” Scott added.
Scott said there is an emergency youth shelter in Guelph, “but we do have a lot of youth who are not interested in moving to Guelph. For youth in crisis, that’s a lot of drastic change. Our hope is to support youth where they are,” she said.
Scott added the program is making inroads. There are some landlords who will rent to young people, although not many. Outreach workers can intervene and work out formal or informal living arrangements.
They also provide advocacy and support, employment supports, grocery and phone cards, and transportation assistance. They can also link youth with medical practitioners and mental health counselling if needed.
“It can be complicated navigating these systems on their own. And as new needs arise, we can find ways to help,” she said.
The committee hopes to get to the root causes of youth homelessness and institute prevention programs. But in the meantime, homeless youth can get help.
In east Wellington, call Tiffany at 226-979-7148 or email tiffany.h@ew-cs.com.
In centre and north Wellington, call June at 519-835-0045 or email jbaldwin@communityresourcecentre.org.
