May 14, 2014 — With paintbrushes in hand, eight members of the Saanich Home Depot team descended upon Mitchell house this week. Under the direction of Darcy Lockhart, the group professionally painted exterior portions of the house and some interior rooms as well.
Last year, Threshold Housing Society was the recipient of support through Home Depot’s “Buy a Hammer and Build a Community Campaign.” This year, we are again excited to be partnering with them in the “Orange Door Campaign.” Both campaigns were created with the purpose of addressing youth homelessness.
We are also grateful for a grant last year from The Home Depot Canada Foundation that went toward much needed upgrades at Holly House. Home Depot is an excellent corporate citizen that thinks and acts locally. Their area associates and volunteers have heart and a lot of expertise in home repair.
On April 11th, 2014, Dr. Stephen Gaetz spoke to a gathering of 30 youth workers in Victoria, BC, host by UVIC Centre for Addictions Research BC. He is the Director of the Canadian Homelessness Research Network and the Homeless Hub. His most recent study, Coming of Age: Reimagining the Response to Youth Homelessness in Canada, details the looming national crisis surrounding youth homelessness and the need for evasive action. Key to this action is the need to move from an emergency response to bolstering the preventive resources that will do more than just offer a “band-aid’ solution to a hemorrhaging problem.
What else do we know besides youth aged between 16 to 24 are the fastest growing segment of the national homeless population? In the State of Homelessness in Canada 2013 report, it is estimated that about 200,000 Canadians experience homelessness annually, and about 30,000 are homeless on any given night. One report estimates that about 20% of the homeless population using shelters are unattached youth between the ages of 16-25, and a further 1% are under 16. This means that there are at least 35,000 young people who are homeless during the year, and perhaps 6000 on any given night. It is important to note that this does not include young people who do not enter the shelter system, who are absolutely homeless and are sleeping out of doors or in other places unsuitable for human habitation, or those who are temporarily staying with friends and have nowhere else to live (couch surfers).
The more underpinning problem for youth is that becoming homeless does not just mean a loss of stable housing, but rather leaving a home in which a youth was embedded in relations of dependence, thus experiencing an interruption and potential rupture in social relations with parents and caregivers, family members, friends, neighbours and community. This dislocation leads to trauma and anxiety which, in human terms, have a long shelf life. The greatest impediment in moving youth in transition is the trauma load they carry, not just from homeless, but the situation and forces that caused their homelessness.
Jan 21, 2014 — Colliers International has been a part of the Victoria community since 1975. The firm is one of the leading commercial real estate companies in the world, with 500 offices worldwide. In Victoria alone, they manage 1.8 million square feet of commercial property.
In September of 2013, the Board of The Colliers Cares Foundation selected the Threshold Housing Society as the recipient of funds raised by the Foundation in 2013. The initiative was led by Linda Ryder of the Foundation and close to 30 Victoria office staff members participated in the funding drive.
Threshold is so grateful for The Colliers Cares Foundation support. The donation will go directly to supporting life-skills programs offered to all youth we house. The programs are based on self-worth and self-esteem building as the key to breaking down barriers to success — from learning proper hygiene to avoiding negative behaviours. This program receives no funding from either civic, provincial or federal sources. It is entirely dependent on private donations and companies like Colliers International that sees the value in investing in youth today who will form our community — and our world — tomorrow.
Our heartfelt thanks to Linda Ryder and the wonderful staff of Collier International (Victoria) for considering at-risk youth an important part of the community and offering them the help they need to realize their potential and achieve their dreams!
Colliers International has been part of the Victoria community since 1975. The firm is one of the leading commercial real estate companies in the world with 500 offices worldwide. In Victoria alone, they manage 1.8 million square feet of commercial property.
In September of 2013, the Board of The Colliers Cares Foundation selected the Threshold Housing Society as the recipient of funds raised by the Foundation in 2013. The initiative was led by Linda Ryder of the Foundation and close to 30 staff members of the Victoria office participated in the funding drive.
Linda Ryder (second from left) and staff present Mark Muldoon of Threshold with a donation raised through the Colliers Cares Foundation
On December 3rd, Mel Cooper, Chair of the TELUS Victoria Community Board, paid an unexpected visit to Threshold. His mission was to deliver a grant cheque that will assist Threshold with its Safe Housing for Youth program. His policy is always to deliver a cheque in person, adding a face and smile to the Board’s good work in the community. What a great time of year to visit! Jiggling bells were heard in the background!
Mel Cooper (left), Chair of the TELUS Community Board of Victoria and Mark Muldoon (right) Executive Director of Threshold
The TELUS Victoria Community Board was launched in May 2007 and is led by Mel Cooper. The annual donation budget is $350,000. Since 2007, the Victoria Community Board has donated $1.85 million to 168 projects. In 2012, it donated $350,000 to 28 projects. In fact, there are 11 Canadian TELUS Community Boards and three International Boards that provide funding to local grassroots organizations in major centres where TELUS operates. These Community Boards are located in Victoria, Vancouver, Thompson Okanagan, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Rimouski, Quebec City, Atlantic Canada, the Philippines, Guatemala and El Salvador.
A new report indicates that British Columbia has the highest child poverty rate in Canada, with one in five kids considered statistically poor, says a report that calls for quick action to alleviate a worsening situation in the western province.
The report by the child and youth advocacy group First Call said B.C.’s child poverty rate is 18.6 per cent compared to the national rate of 13.3 per cent. Manitoba’s rate, the second-highest in the country, stands at 17.3 per cent.
Adrienne Montani, First Call’s provincial co-ordinator states: “B.C. stands out as having done the least among all provinces to bring down child and family poverty through government supports and programs.”
The report, unfortunately is not reporting something new. BC has had one of the worst child poverty statistics in the country for years. Is there any reason why BC cannot fix this problem. In a letter to the editor in the Times Colonist, Dr. Robert Duncan argued:
In November, the Intact Foundation recently made a financial donation to the Threshold Housing Society to assist in its mission to provide long-term transitional housing for at-risk youth in the Victoria region.
Intact Insurance is Canada’s largesthome, autoand business insurance company. It is also a company that truly believes in building community in the areas they serve.Over the last several years, the Intact Foundation has made a priority of assisting at-risk youth.The company profoundly understands that the future of any community lies in the healthy and well-being of its youth.In focusing in on at-risk youth, Intact takes the long view that social outreach and engagement is more effective by embracing a preventive model such that investing in at-risk youth today will negate indirect costs associated with social issues (homelessness, chronic poverty and criminal justice involvement) tomorrow.
Mr. Peter Norton, Regional Branch Manger, Western Division for Intact Insurance (centre) presents a cheque to Rebekah Humphrey, Mark Muldoon (left) and Graham Kelly (right) of the Threshold Housing Society of Victoria, BC
The BC Representative for Children and Youth, Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, speaks to local youth service providers. To her left is Brian Hill, one of the researchers of the report on youth mental health, and, on the right, is Jennifer Au, an advocate for the RCYBC.
The message of the report is that youth mental health in BC is fractured to the point of being dysfunctional. Many of the promises made by the Ministry of Children and Family Development in their 2003 five year plan, Child and Youth Mental Plan, have been unfulfilled. Many of the complaints noted in the report where well-known to the service providers in the audience who struggle daily to find mental health resources that actually work for youth. These complaints include long-wait lists, lack of follow-up with family members or guardians, lack of specialized acute care hospitals for youth with mental health problems. As pointed out in the presentation, while the government may think they have provided services for youth, such services in reality don’t exist or don’t work. If mental health was understood on the same level as we do physical health, as for example with diabetes, we would create a much more friendly footprint of how to access treatment without shame and denial.
Victoria BC, Oct 10th, 2013 Threshold Housing Society celebrated a $25,000 grant they received from The Home Depot Canada Foundation for their affordable housing project. The grant is part of the Foundation’s Affordable Housing Grant Program and will be used to upgrade flooring and the bathroom at Holly House
“This project wouldn’t have been possible without the funding generously provided by The Home Depot Canada Foundation,” said Mark Muldoon of Threshold Housing Society, we are very grateful to Home Depot for their generous donation.” “It will make a big difference for the youth coming into our program!”
As part of its commitment to supporting affordable housing and building strong communities for Canadians in need, The Home Depot Canada Foundation launched its Affordable Housing Grant Program in 2009. Through this program, the Foundation provides support to Canadian registered charities completing repair, modification and/or renovation projects to their housing dwellings that benefit youth in need. By the end of 2013, The Home Depot Canada Foundation will have distributed $1,975,000 in grants to 79 community organizations across Canada through this program.
Victoria BC, Oct 10th, 2013 Threshold Housing Society celebrated a $25,000 grant they received from The Home Depot Canada Foundation for their affordable housing project. The grant is part of the Foundation’s Affordable Housing Grant Program and will be used to upgrade flooring and the bathroom at Holly House
“This project wouldn’t have been possible without the funding generously provided by The Home Depot Canada Foundation,” said Mark Muldoon of Threshold Housing Society, we are very grateful to Home Depot for their generous donation.” “It will make a big difference for the youth coming into our program!”
As part of its commitment to supporting affordable housing and building strong communities for Canadians in need, The Home Depot Canada Foundation launched its Affordable Housing Grant Program in 2009. Through this program, the Foundation provides support to Canadian registered charities completing repair, modification and/or renovation projects to their housing dwellings that benefit youth in need. By the end of 2013, The Home Depot Canada Foundation will have distributed $1,975,000 in grants to 79 community organizations across Canada through this program.
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