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More than 40 youths at risk of homelessness have been housed in an apartment building in the Beltline — 12 of them receiving additional support for their mental health and with navigating systems, including criminal justice and child welfare.
The facility, built by non-profit housing provider HomeSpace Society, is being operated by Trellis Society after previously serving as affordable housing.
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“This building embodies the resilience, strength and hope of the youth we serve, young people who have faced the absolute harshest of realities yet hold with them the unwavering determination to navigate that different path,” Trellis Society CEO Jeff Dyer said at a news conference Monday.
“Many of these young people have journeys marked by unimaginable circumstances — so unsafe homes, addictions, mental health, sexual exploitation, generational homelessness, and on and on.”
The 46 youths, most of whom moved in earlier this year, were housed with the help of what Trellis calls two program streams. Twelve youths, all of whom have faced extreme circumstances, fell under a year-long housing pilot project in a space in Forest Lawn, created in 2021, that provides constant monitoring and counselling.
Monday’s announcement was an extension of the program and a relocation of the youth to the Beltline building. The program, jointly funded by the ministries of Children and Family Services, and Seniors, Community and Social Services, cost $1.3 million, said Dyer.
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The rest were picked by non-profit Safe Communities Opportunity & Resource Centre (SORCe) in conjunction with the Calgary Homeless Foundation, said Hayley Muir, external communications at Trellis. She added many people facing homelessness are screened and connected with the right agencies via their programs.
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Along with counselling, both groups are taught financial literacy, social and employment skills, including building resumes and giving job interviews. It includes a partnership with Calgary Stampede allowing some youths to secure a “fun summer job” said Muir.
Youths also receive career guidance. “If someone wants to get into oil and gas, they’ll create some pathways there,” Muir said.
Muir said funding for the second program is drawn from several sources, including the province, City of Calgary and third parties such as the Calgary Homeless Foundation.
“It means a lot to my ministry,” Searle Turton, Minister of Children and Family Services said at the news conference. “It means a lot to the families. It means a lot to the kids that may have nowhere else to go.”
The news comes as government allots $717 million for affordable housing in capital grants over three years and $257 million in this year for senior lodges and social housing in the 2024 budget.
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