Issue:

Emergency shelters are running at capacity. Youth are staying longer in shelters and have more complex needs (i.e., mental health and substance use) that require more supports to be able to move forward. This is exacerbated by a lack of affordable housing in the city, which is creating increased demand for our various housing options available in the community. COVID-19 has made this year an especially challenging time with many support services closing and the threat of housing loss due to an inability to pay rent.

Fiscal 2020 Outcomes:

• Supported 665 youth through our residential housing programs
• Added a housing worker to support the expansion of our community apartment program. We increased the number of youth placed in the program by 5%
• Provided one-on-one support to 283 youth housed in the community with the addition of a worker to our Youth in Transition team
• Supported 24 young women between our two specialized homes for survivors of sex trafficking, The Rogers Home and Avdell Home. There was a 14% increase in the number of young women we supported at Avdell this year
• We saw a 7% increase in the number of young people in our transitional housing programs, which is due in part to the 2019 opening of two new specialized houses dedicated to youth experiencing systemic discrimination
• Supported 1,513 young people in our drop-in centre. This is about a 15% decrease from last year due to closing the space temporarily in adherence to health and safety recommendations related to COVID-19. We shifted to providing bagged lunches and phone appointments for counselling in April and May, resumed full services three days a week in June and five days a week in the new fiscal year
• Moved about 40% of the young people in our shelter to a hotel to follow City health and distancing protocols for COVID-19, and made adjustments to our programming to ensure youth continue to receive needed support. We are also supporting an additional 15 youth at the hotel who are from two other shelters

Issue:

There is a significant shortage of mental health services available in the community and a lack of providers offering specialized support to youth with highly complex needs, such as survivors of sex trafficking. Furthermore, the feelings of isolation, anxiety and distress that many youth we see already have has been compounded due to the fear, uncertainty and impact of COVID-19.

Fiscal 2020 Outcomes:

• Had 4,748 visits to our on-site clinic, which is a 2% increase over last year, and treated 604 youth
• Expanded our mental health and addiction supports for youth through community partnerships, including offering increased health care/psychiatric supports in our drop-in centre
• Our counsellors specializing in mental health and substance use supported 193 youth, which is a 4% increase over last year. Shifted to offering both in-person and remote (phone/video) appointments so staff can continue to be available to youth during COVID-19
• Supported 108 survivors of sex trafficking and connected them with the services they need. This is down about 4% from the year prior as we put a hold on accepting new residents in our specialized homes for survivors to prevent the introduction and spread of COVID-19. Those who required support continued to have access to designated beds in our shelter
• COVID-19 had a significant impact on our mentor program preventing us from acquiring new mentors. We matched 33 youth with mentors, which is about a 45% decrease from last year, and shifted all current mentor activities to virtual platforms
• Updated our facility and operations to promote distancing and a safe environment, i.e. staggering meal times and seating, availability of personal protective equipment, increasing cleaning and sanitation, adding plexiglass barriers, etc.

Issue:

Competition for jobs is high, and the cost of living in Toronto is expensive. As result, many youth are putting their time into finding jobs to survive instead of focusing on getting an education. However, COVID-19 has negatively impacted both these areas with many youth losing jobs and having their education interrupted. Wrap-around support, including life skills training and mental health supports, continue to be needed by youth as they pursue employment and education goals.

Fiscal 2020 Outcomes:

• Significantly increased the number of life skills workshops offered this year to 1,158, which is a 114% increase over the year prior, and increased credits achieved to 3,262. Both in-person and virtual sessions were offered for youth on-site and those in the community
• Secured additional funding to extend our culinary arts job training program, Cooking For Life, to March 2023
• 455 jobs and job training placements were realized by our youth, which is a 22% decrease over last year, and we anticipate the entry-level market will continue to struggle as the impacts of COVID-19 continue. Many supports shifted to virtual platforms and we also began assisting youth with CERB applications
• Supported joint programming activities between our high school program and partner agencies for an enriched curriculum experience
• Youth attendance at our on-site high school dropped as a result of COVID-19. 20 youth attended our on-site high school, about a 45% decrease from the year prior, earning 20 credits. Began delivering virtual one-on-one sessions in March to help youth achieve education goals during COVID-19

Issue:

At least 6,000 youth experience homelessness in Canada each night, and the number of reported incidents of sex trafficking continues to grow. Community engagement is essential to tackle these large-scale issues. This involves working with youth, families, schools, front line service providers and industries to educate them, raise awareness and help prevent greater victimization. This year, we saw a rise in family conflict due to COVID-19 keeping us indoors longer and the overall anxieties related to the pandemic.

Fiscal 2020 Outcomes:

• Secured a renewal of funds until March 2021 for our program that reconnects youth with their families and extended networks of support, and expanded this program to more sites
• Increased the number of youth reconnected or reunited with their families to 222, a nearly 10% increase over the program’s results last year
• Delivered homelessness and sex trafficking prevention presentations to over 16,000 students, which is down about 40% from the year prior. This is a result of the teacher strike during the school year and school closures due to COVID-19
• Provided 164 local and national training sessions to front-line workers and professionals from the hospitality industry, which is a 95% increase over last year. Presentations came to a halt once COVID-19 health and safety precautions came into effect
• Launched Shoppable Girls, a multi-media anti-sex trafficking awareness campaign for teen girls and caregivers in February
• In February, we also launched TraffickStop.ca, an online hub with anti-trafficking information and resources for the general public, caregivers, service providers and industry
• Worked in partnership with the Children’s Aid Society (CAS) to develop a Caregiver Guide for foster parents and CAS staff, a resource for sex-trafficking awareness and a resource for youth in care