Covenant House Vancouver and The Rights of Passage Program (ROP) were thrilled to collaborate with The Canadian Observatory on Homelessness/Homeless Hub on the Youth Transitional Housing Toolkit. This toolkit will be a great resource for shelters, housing providers, youth-serving agencies and other organizations concerned about homeless and at-risk youth in Canada.
ROP provides youth with safe, affordable housing and support while they transition to a successful and independent adulthood. This innovative program goes far beyond just housing young people; it offers them long-term support while teaching them crucial life skills they will need to make it on their own.
Our young people often come to us with a variety of barriers to independence including addictions, mental health issues, trauma and a history of abuse. Our youth often lack basic skills such as budgeting, cooking, cleaning and goal setting. Many have been through destructive and traumatic life cycles where they try to leave the streets, but they get overwhelmed or taken advantage of, and end up back on the streets, more at risk than ever before.
Relationship building is a key component to the work we do along with providing structure, counselling and time to practice new life skills and behaviors in a safe, supportive environment. Our youth are invested in making the big changes that will keep them off the streets for good; the staff at ROP support them every step of the way.
In addition to individualized and comprehensive Case Management, structure and support, our young people receive:
- A fully furnished apartment at Covenant House
- 24-hour support from Covenant House Youth Workers
- Help learning to clean and take care of household responsibilities
- Help with decision-making, money management, time management, communication skills and conflict resolution
- Support maintaining employment and/or developing an education plan
- Wake-up calls and help sticking to schedules (reminders of appointments and assignments)
- Community meals, kitchen and a cooking group
- Counselling and additional support as required to heal from the abuses of the past
- Recreation programs and activities
Covenant House Vancouver and ROP are honored to walk with our young people as they journey towards a successful and independent adulthood. We sincerely hope that this toolkit will help provide other organizations with new ideas and tools to work with youth all across Canada.
To learn more about ROP and Covenant House Vancouver visit: www.covenanthousebc.org