Help Threshold help our youth!
To donate, go to
www.thresholdhousing.ca
Mailing Address: 900 Vancouver Street, Victoria, BC V8V 3V7
250-383-8830 | info@thresholdhousing.ca
Few have fond memories of their adolescence. For me, it was a time of challenging my parents’ authority, trying to fit in with my peer group, maturing sexually, being confused about my future, and generally hating school.
The only thing that got me through this bizarre time was the fact I had a home to go to, no matter how crazy I acted.
Today in Greater Victoria, a lot of youth are going through adolescence without the stability of a family and a home. The Threshold Housing Society finds safe housing for youth 16-22 years of age who are at risk of becoming homeless. We receive 140 referrals a year for 30 rooms or units available for transitional housing that can last up to two years.
The homeless youth population in the Greater Victoria region is hidden, for the most part. They are not sleeping on the streets or hanging out in store fronts; they are trying to finish school or hold down a minimum-wage job while couch-surfing or living in unsafe housing situations.
In Canada today, the fastest-growing segment of the homeless population is between the ages of 16 and 24 years. If you think the adult homeless population in Victoria will go away
any time soon, just consider the number of youth aging out of foster care, being abandoned or escaping abusive situations.
You might think that the problem of homelessness is easily solved by just giving someone an apartment—and for adults this might work.
But what works for an adult doesn’t necessarily work for a young person. A youth is undergoing a fundamental reorganization of their brain that will continue into their mid-20s. They are struggling through self-image issues, peer pressure and physical changes.
Threshold not only provides a safe home for at-risk youth, but supplies an innovative life-skills program and transitional planning that aims to build self-esteem and self-reliance.
The aim of staff is to move each youth from being at-risk to being at-promise.
Christmas is the time for seeing the big picture about how we treat one another—even the awkward adolescent with the whacky attitude who hides a frightened heart.
Mark Muldoon
Executive Director