The following article appeared in the June 16 edition of the Guelph Mercury:
Change Now, Guelph’s only youth emergency shelter, closed its doors yesterday with no warning and no explanation given to the staff or at-risk youth who depend on its services.
Gone are the 20 beds and hot meals.
The courtyard and basement of Norfolk United had been a place for them to meet, to talk and find support, a shelter at night and a drop-in by day.
Now the teens that were staying there can’t get through the door to collect their stuff. They have to call a number posted in the window, beneath a sign that reads: Change Now is permanently closed.
“This is a complete shock to us,” Julie Elliotson said, speaking on behalf of the centre’s terminated staff.
The youth support worker said they saw no signs that this was coming. Many staff were informed yesterday by phone or e-mail.
Youth and former staff can only speculate on why the centre closed so suddenly.
The United Way and Wellington County Social Services provided funds. The heads of neither would comment on the reason for the closure, though social services administrator Kim Warner said it had nothing to do with their funding.
United Way executive director Morris Twist suggested talking to Change Now’s board of directors, as did the church.
But the board isn’t explaining the closure. “The programs at Change Now were no longer able to provide for the needs of the young people,” board co-president Li Peckan said.
“I truly regret that this had to happen,” Peckan said.
She added she is not able to go into more detail about the sudden closure at this time. She added said if any good will come from the announcement, it will at least bring more attention to youth homelessness in the city.
Hundreds of kids made use of the facilities.
It doesn’t really matter why they shut it down, Heather Pfaff said. What matters is the loss of a centre for support.
The 18-year-old helped organize a protest in St. George’s Square yesterday afternoon.
She drew up a petition on loose-leaf paper. Passersby signed their names in support of the centre reopening.
The closure is hard to swallow.
“There’s no safe place for us to go hang out.”
She has never had to sleep at the shelter, “but I know that it’s there.”
Now there are four youth emergency beds in Guelph, all at Wyndham House. But those aren’t always guaranteed, said executive director Debbie Bentley-Lauzon
“It is a significant loss to the at-risk youth in our community,” she said.
With help from the Welcome In drop-in, Wyndham was able to find three beds for Change Now turn-aways.
“The youth who have accessed the support services of both the drop-in and the shelter programs generally have nowhere else to go for support –for shelter, for food or for health services,” Elliotson said. “To shut the doors with no apparent plan for the youth in sight is deeply disturbing.”
Mindy Foote was living in the shelter. The pregnant 17-year-old said it was the only home she really had. “They just, like, threw us out. There was no warning.”
Check out the online petition at: http://www.changebacknow.com/