MEDICINE HAT, AB —Having a roof over your head has often been said to be the first step to success.
A renovated apartment complex downtown will help teens and young adults make those first steps.
Eight residents will move into their new home, Youthopia, later this month.
McMan Community Services has spent nearly a year renovating the one bedroom units.
“What we know is youth do best when they have a sense of belonging and a sense of community and we’re trying to instill the skills that they need and the support that they have to feel that,” said Tracy Tanghe with McMan.
Two resident workers will also live in the building in case anyone needs help or just someone to talk to.
“This is a really great starting place,” Tanghe added. “What we do is teach them about a lease, teach them what it means to be a good neighbour.”
Tenants moving in are between the ages of 16 and 24.
Many have been through the foster system and need some guidance on how to cook, clean and take care of themselves and their home.
“If something happens at night, they have someone to go to,” said youth program supervisor Britni Chambers. “It could be something small, maybe. Like, it might sound silly, but maybe they don’t know how to change their thermostat.”
Jaime Rogers with the Medicine Hat Community Housing Society, said in any year, there’s about 3,700 young people across Canada who experience homelessness.
“We call it being discharged out of the institutions because they have actually aged out of care,” she said. “So although there are extended supports available in those systems, at some point, those support systems end.”
Rogers said finding housing is often the easy part.
“It’s the wrap around supports to help people maintain their housing, get them connected to community that seems to be the challenge and we see that more so in our youth population,” she added.
But Youthopia will provide more than that.
Staff with McMan say it’s about creating a place where everyone feels like they belong.
“Belonging is one of our most basic human needs,” Chambers said. “For some of these youth, family might not be an option for them, so it’s just giving that other option.”
McMan is furnishing the suites with the basic essentials, including a couch and a bed, helping to make the suites feel more like home.
