The Windsor Residence for Young Men is celebrating the success of a two-year grant.
The organization, which assists young men experiencing homelessness, received a $116,000 grant through the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) in April 2024.
This funding was used for the Youth Housing Specialist program to support youth experiencing or at risk of homelessness by providing housing support, system navigation, and ongoing aftercare services to help young people achieve long-term stability.
Since April 2024, the program has supported 139 youth through outreach, housing support, and aftercare services.
Of the 43 youth served who were actively experiencing homelessness, 38 of them - or 88 per cent - successfully exited homelessness by transitioning to independent living, or reconnecting with family.
Jason Weinberg, Executive Director at Windsor Residence for Young Men, says they don't receive government funding, so grants are critical.
"So it is incredibly essential for us to be able to provide the services that we do to those who are experiencing homelessness and identify as male. And we'd just like to emphasize that for the young men in our community there really is a disparity in the services available to them. So this funding allows us to fill that gap and ensure that we're getting people housing in a quick and successful manner."
He says this funding assisted with a range of services.
"We were able to put a lot more intensive services into things like emotional support, system navigation for physical health, mental health, a wide variety of needs rather than being so overly resourced on housing acquisition because that additional staff member allowed one person to be focused on the housing elements."
He says the need continues to rise.
"Unfortunately the cost of the housing has not reduced, nor has the income sources available to the most vulnerable populations in our community, housing stock hasn't been introduced that would alleviate the problem. So this issue is still existing in a pretty extensive manner."
The grant is now complete, but Weinberg says the success of this program will allow them to advocate to other donors with the hope of continuing and expanding the work.
Since 2012, Windsor Residence for Young Men assists upwards of 50 youth annually at the residence, and over 100 youth outside of the residence.
Weinberg says in 2025, the length of stay for young men was approximately 90 days, with some staying longer and others leaving the residence quicker depending on available supports.