New program launched to help Calgary’s homeless LGBTQ youth

It’s being hailed as the first of its kind in Canada, a homeless program that addresses the issue of homeless LGBTQ youth.

The Boys and Girls Club of Calgary launched Friday the “Aura Host Homes” program, in conjunction with the Calgary Homeless Foundation.

They plan on working to match 16 youth between the ages of 14 and 24, with approved host parents in a safe and supportive home environment. Both the youth and host parents will receive ongoing assistance from a support worker as the youth work to develop skills, natural supports and other resources in order to transition to independence.

Wherever possible they’ll work to provide the youth with options and avenues to return home, if a safe home isn’t available, then other housing options will be provided.

“We’re certainly seeing a lot of it in Calgary, we’re seeing a lot of it through our Infinity Program, which is a program that meets and reaches kids on the street, and that’s where they really hear, I don’t want to go into a shelter, I’m nervous.” said Boys and Girls Club of Calgary CEO Cheryl Doherty.

They’ve aligned the new initiative with Alberta’s Plan to Prevent and Reduce Youth Homelessness.

It was launched to respond to a competitive Request for Proposal from the Calgary Homeless Foundation and it will cost $254,000 in it’s first year.

Calgary Homeless Foundation President and CEO Diana Krescy calls it innovative and adds it’s bringing youth home.

“You know what, it was all done in partnership, it was between the Boys and Girls Club of Calgary, the research community, the Calgary Homeless Foundation and the government of Alberta to say listen, this is what’s happening in our ‘point and time’ counts with youth homelessness in Alberta, we need to do something about this. Research showed us that 40 per cent of youth right now who are homeless are on the LGBTQ spectrum and we know that if we can deal with that one issue, we can drop youth homelessness by 40 per cent,” said Krescy.

Officials are hoping if successful, they’ll be able to expand.

Dr. Alex Ambramovich with the Canadian Association of Mental Health has been doing research in the field of homeless LGBTQ youth and is encouraged by what’s beginning here in Calgary.

“I think it’s going to start a movement, not just in Calgary or Alberta, but in Canada,” he said. “I’ve said it before, I feel Alberta is actually leading the way in how we deal with homeless LGBTQ youth.”

“More and more provinces and more and more people are starting to realize just how serious this problem is, there’s been a lot of denial,” he adds.

According to Ambramovich the last real study done to see what the numbers are like and how bad of a problem it is, was done 15 years ago.

He adds many shelters outside of major cities are turning away LGBTQ youth because they feel it’s unsafe and they don’t have the resources they need.

“This is definitely not going to solve the issue, the solution is more complex and it’s going to take more of a cross-government approach,” he said but adds it’s at least a start.