The Ontario Trillium Foundation has awarded $552,000 to a local organization that's helping homeless and at-risk youth.
The three-year Grow Grant awarded Thursday to the Windsor Residence for Young Men will help support and grow its System Navigation pilot project.
Over 50 homeless youth were assisted during the two-year pilot project in navigating complex systems and barriers to basic needs, including applications for government support, securing medical care, long-term housing, and transportation.
Executive Director Jason Weinberg says this is about helping youth get the right help at the right time.
"A lot of crisis management in our lives is about our experience, our ability to recognize a problem and find the solution. With youth who don't have that experience or a support system in their life, they're unable to recognize how to resolve the challenges that face them," he says. "This is where having someone who is trained in the services that exist to navigate that goes a long way to make sure they get their needs met."
"Applications to fill out, ID that's required, waitlists, appointment times, and transportation-all these things can be barriers for individuals trying to get help. If you don't have ID and the first thing you need is a birth certificate, that immediately is going to remove your ability to receive that service," he says.
Weinberg says the need for this program is pretty extensive.
"There's a lot of youth who have a lot of uncertainty in their lives and having someone who can meet with them on a regular basis and focus on their Ontario Works application, applying for OSAP, or looking at disability, there are so many areas of a person's life they need to resolve," he says.
The Windsor Residence for Young Men supports youth 16-24 years of age who are at risk or experiencing homelessness, are victims of abuse, neglect, or family violence, or have historical or current Children's Aid involvement.
In 2024, the residence supported almost 100 people through all the programs, between 30 and 50 in the housing program along with another 80 to 100 in the community.
The Windsor Residence for Young Men is located at 1505 Langlois Ave. near Shepherd St. E.