On February 3, Huntsville Youth Council, in partnership with The Door Youth Centre, is bringing the issue of youth homelessness to light with its second annual Sleep Out event.
Young people aged 13 to 24 who are homeless make up approximately 20 per cent of the overall homeless population in Canada. Seventy-seven per cent of the youth in the sample indicated that a key reason they left home was an inability to get along with their parents. Young people also identified that abusive relationships within the household were a significant cause of their homelessness, as were mental health and addiction problems among their parents. (Source: Without a Home: The National Youth Homelessness Survey)
For the event, students will be sleeping outside all night with only a sleeping bag, tarp and cardboard box to keep them warm. James Hunt, director of The Door, along with Mayor Scott Aitchison will be joining the students. Mayor Aitchison has also challenged other council members to join the sleep out as well.
Youth homelessness is not a visible issue in Huntsville — homeless youth here tend to find options like couch surfing with friends rather than sleeping on the street — but it is an issue nonetheless.
“Youth homelessness is an issue that is gaining more awareness over the last couple of years. The community now sees that it needs to be addressed and we need a solution,” said Hunt. “We need to address the issue now in order to save people from a future on the streets as an adult.”
The Door Youth Centre relies 100 per cent on private donations and provides programs such as workshops, small groups and counselling for teens going through a difficult time. The Door also implements programs within local schools and organizes mission trips. And now it’s adding youth housing solutions to the mix.
“This year’s sleep out is different because we are supporting The Door,” said Youth Council Chair, Ryan Clark. “We are helping them implement a housing project that will provide struggling youth with recourses to aid in finding or providing them a home.
“This issue is extremely important to me. I believe that every teenager deserves the same opportunity to succeed and pursue any career opportunity that they desire. Having a steady home is essential to that.”
The Door has two major goals for the money that is being raised from the Sleep Out event, along with private donations and other fundraising.
“We want to develop a network of homes with extra bedrooms for youth to sleep in temporarily. This is a short-term solution though,” said Hunt. “Our long-term goal is to buy a building so we can house teens on a long-term basis. This will provide them a place to live and it also enables us to enrol them in programs and teach them life skills.” Hunt noted that its umbrella organization, Youth For Christ, has working models running in western Canada that The Door plans to emulate here.
Some may remember the Top Hat House for Youth initiative which started in 2011, but Hunt says it has no connection to what The Door has planned. A representative for Top Hat House for Youth could not be reached for comment on the status of that initiative.
The Huntsville Youth Council Sleep Out will be held at Civic Square, in front of the Algonquin Theatre beginning at 10 a.m on February 3. Community members are welcome to stop by at any point and show their support.
If you want to support the cause, you can donate via CanadaHelps here (select “Huntsville Door Youth Centre” from the dropdown list, and write “Youth Housing” in the message box). You can also email James Hunt at ([email protected]) to arrange to drop off donations at The Door.
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