With a facility in place, Sea to Sky Corridor youth workers are hunting for grants to open up the area's first youth shelter.
We have gone from here to there, said Kathy Daniels, moving her hand from in front of her to above her head.
Four months ago, the outreach service manager for Sea to Sky Community Services (SSCS) and a group of local youth service providers gathered to see if they could address an ongoing problem youth homelessness.
Last year, officials at the Squamish Youth Resource Centre, which is operated by SSCS, determined that there were six homeless teenagers in the community. With no place to turn in town, the closest youth group home the North Shore Youth Safe House is a 50-minute drive away in North Vancouver. In 2010, 22 Squamish youth accessed the Lower Mainland's facility, some as young as 14 years old.
When stepping outside their hometown for help, Squamish youth lose what little support they might have, such as friends, school, work and family, Daniels said. Just last week, the North Shore house's four beds were full and Daniels was forced to look for housing for two youth further afield. There have been times when Squamish teenagers ended up as far away as Surrey, she noted.
If everything goes according to plan, Daniels and the team of stakeholders aim to open up two beds for youth between the ages 13 and 24 before the end of the year. SSCS youth transition worker Nicole McRae said the group's goal is to have a facility up and running by September.
A two-bed unit at the affordable housing development Riverstones has been reserved for the project by SSCS. Fundraising organization the Squamish Breakfast Club has vowed to furnish the unit and is backing the initiative in a letter of support.
We have also engaged the First Nations, who are very interested in this service, Daniels said.
The missing piece of the puzzle is cash. The unit needs sustainable funding so youth can rely on it, Daniels said. The youth services team is pursuing the idea of running the program through the Ministry of Children and Family Development. The group is also approaching the non-profit Vancouver Foundation for grants.
The ultimate goal is to operate the unit 24/7 with an on-site youth worker, McRae said. However, the service could start off with regular weekend staffing, and afternoon and night coverage on weekdays. The budget for such a facility can run up to $280,000 annually, Daniels noted.
Once opened, the team is considering calling the unit Duncan's Place in memory of a Squamish youth whom youth services tried to aid. After falling in and out of programs, Duncan died on the streets of East Vancouver.
If we had a facility like this, it might have saved his life, Daniels said.
