By Brianna Todd
The holidays are near and the winter season is upon us. For most, this means getting to enjoy the holidays indoors, warm by a fire with our families. But for some, it means struggling to find a place to stay warm during the nights and get some food to eat. In Huntsville, this is more relevant than you would think, and some of the biggest worry is in our youth.
The Get A Plan (GAP) program is working very hard to help out 16-17 year-old homeless youth and get them to a better place. Whether that means finding the person a trustee to help them get by, helping to find permanent residence, or just helping them find a job by teaching them how to write a resume or do a proper interview, the GAP program is there. The program lost its funding in April of 2015 and now relies on limited donations to continue helping youth. They need much more to do their work effectively and hope to one day have full-time staff available to provide help to homeless youth.
From April 2015 to April 2016, the GAP program has helped 42 youth in Muskoka, and roughly half of them are thought to have been youth in Huntsville. Keep in mind that these are only those aged 16-17, and only the ones the GAP program was able to help. It’s not only finding a place for these people to sleep, it could also be helping them work through possible past trauma, finding the next meal for them to eat, helping deal with an addiction, helping them get new clothes to wear and teaching them life skills that will help them in the future.
The Huntsville Youth Council has taken a special interest in this topic, even going as far as sleeping outside in cardboard boxes to raise awareness. They will be joining forces with the Top Hat House for Youth and sleeping outside of the Algonquin Theatre on December 23. Sleeping bags have been donated by Algonquin Outfitters for the night, to make it a little more bearable.
Even donating food during this season will help someone out there, and if you want to reach out more, you can donate through the Simcoe Muskoka Family Connexions program. Let’s make this season, and every season to come, a little bit better for all.
Brianna Todd
About Brianna Todd
Born and raised in Huntsville. Always playing the devil’s advocate. Restless and in desperate need of adventure. Constantly need tea or pizza. If you can’t find me I’m probably lost in Netflix… or actually lost. I love our small town and am dedicated to showing others just how great it is.
Briannna is a co-op student at Huntsville High School.
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