Below is some information regarding the recent closing of Change Now Youth Drop-In and Resource Centre and what the community and the United Way of Guelph and Wellington are doing to deal with this issue.
Change Now Youth Drop-In and Resource Centre closed its doors on Friday, June 8th.
Change Now board members closed the centre and cancelled its programming because they felt it was no longer sustainable.
Although there was urgency with the closing of the program, there have been problems with the centre for over a year.
Change Now was not closed because of a loss of support from funders. The United Way and Wellington County Social Services continue their support for this type of programming.
It is also important to note that the centre was not closed because of any wrong doing by the youth, but was instead due to organizational issues.
What is happening to meet the needs of the youth now?
Several social service agencies met on Tuesday, June 19th to determine what needed to be done to meet the urgent needs of the youth that were using Change Now services at the time of the closure.
The groups in attendance included: Michael House Pregnancy Care Centre, Wellington County Social Services, Royal City Christian Life Centre, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Health Unit, Guelph Community Health Centre, Family and Children Services, Welcome In Drop-In Centre, United Way of Guelph and Wellington, Second Chance Employment Centre, Wyndham House, and the County of Wellington.
At this meeting, it was agreed that the youth could use the Guelph Community Health Centre for ongoing Health Care, and that the Welcome In Drop-In Centre, Chalmers Community Services Centre, and the Royal City Christian Life Centre are all prepared to provide the food required for the youth.
Meeting the needs of at-risk youth in the community in the long term.
The United Way along with Wellington County Social Services have set up a ‘task force’ to look at housing for at risk youth in Guelph and Wellington County.
One of the main objectives for this task force is to develop a proposal of programming that would provide some of the services previously offered at Change Now, such as a youth resource centre and emergency overnight shelter.
The task force is being chaired by Roya Rabbani, ED of the Self-Help Resource Centre of Toronto. Debbie Bentley-Lauzon, ED of Wyndham House, will be providing support as staff.
Once fully developed, the task force will include community and direct service volunteers, and youth representation.
The funders, including the United Way and Wellington County Social Services, are hoping to have another agency/program operating by the fall.
Please note that:
As Change Now has closed, the United Way feels that the focus should now be on providing emergency and long term services to the at-risk youth within the community.
The funds previously allocated to Change Now will be held in reserve and will be available when new programming is put in place.
The United Way is committed to meeting the needs of at-risk youth within the community.
For more information please contact Morris Twist, Executive Director of the United Way of Guelph and Wellington, at 519-821-0571 ext. 23