What if we could eliminate the reality of homelessness for good in the lives of our youth at highest risk? That is exactly what we are hoping to do with the launch of our newest venture: Why Not Youth Housing!
Get In On The Ground Floor!
Charlie's Place
Charlie’s place is home to the Why Not Youth Housing program for young men. The program is built on the foundation of mentorship. From this base we offer everything from life skills like cooking and cleaning to education supports and budgeting. The young men choose a pathway – education or employment, and we do everything in our power to see them succeed as they set attainable short-term goals to help them meet their long term objective. From this position of stability and strength, we hope to launch these young men into a successful adult life with the skills they need to THRIVE!
Charlie’s Place has three bedrooms and has been provided at affordable rates by our partner Jaycee Homes.
We want to be good stewards and even better neighbours! Recognizing the need to integrate our young men into the world, being a good neighbour is top of mind. That means keeping a well-maintained property and acting in a respectful manner to those who live around us. This former “crack house” has been fully renovated, cleaned up inside and out and is now filled with young men who are actively seeking to improve their lives and change their story.
Ultimately, through this program we want to transform the lives and trajectory of each young man who lives at Charlie’s Place. To remove them from the cycle of generational poverty. To make them young men who give back to the community who supported them when they needed it most.
Lasting Impact
When the barrier to a youth achieving success is homelessness, it can be nearly impossible to overcome. A lack of housing stability dramatically reduces the ability of a youth to plan and set goals. When the question of “where I’m going to sleep tonight” is hard to answer, all planning and progress around other goals such as “finishing my education” or “getting up for work” goes right down the drain.
We have developed a housing program that we believe is going to be pivotal in establishing our highest-risk young men in a productive adult life. By working with youth we already know and mentor, we can quickly support them as they take those first steps toward implementing their plan.
The youth in our supportive independent housing program develop a customized goal plan that is geared toward education or employment. Throughout the maximum of three years that they live in Why Not Youth Housing, they will prepare for independent living. This means that the future families of these young men should ultimately break the cycle of dependence on social assistance, creating space for others in the community to be helped by these programs.
Thanks to the subsidized rates offered to us by our partner Jaycee Homes, participants can be charged an affordable program fee that will cover about half the cost of the housing program. However, we have many one-time costs to get the house furnished and the program in place. There is also the ongoing need for staff to run the program and other operating costs.
Your support to help us operate Why Not Youth Housing would help shift the trajectory of these young men who are in desperate need of stability. We know this is a big undertaking, but we are eager to start to truly impact the homeless crisis in Brantford by keeping the next generation off the streets.
